Greasy Silk
by Polkadotdotdot
Summary: A self esteem boosting shopping trip leads to a very interesting and dangerous change for Kaylee. How will she cope at becoming a weapon just like River and what does the Alliance want with her? Jaylee
1. Silk Dresses

Kaylee sighed as she sat with her feet up in the galley, listening to Jayne flap his gums about the whore he'd been with. He was really taken with this one, going on about how pretty she looked and all the fine stuff she had. Kaylee had engine grease and a smile. How was she meant to compete. Ever since they had came back from their ordeal at the Heart of Gold whore house, the small engineer had been unusually quite and withdrawn from everyone. Zoe and Wash had headed back to their bunk to work on their "Marriage Relations" as Zoe had put it and Innara had gone straight to her shuttle, stating that she just wanted some time to herself. 

She sat staring into space, absently chewing on one of her nails, not noticing that everyone who was in the room had stopped listening to Jayne and was now focusing on her.

"Kaylee? KAYLEE!" a voice finally got through to her and she looked up to see Jayne, Simon, Book and Mal staring at her. Hell, even River was staring. as quick as she could she plastered a smile on her face and looked around.

"Yeah? Sorry, Cap'n...What is it you were sayin'?" She said. Mal had a confused and worried look all over his face.

"I was askin' if you were ok and since it took you the best part of 5 minutes to answer i'm thinkin' that there is" Mal said, standing up from his position at the table and walking towards her.

"You wanna tell me whats wrong _mei mei_?" he asked. Kaylee jumped to her feet and shook her head quickly.

"Nope, all good Cap'n but _sheh-sheh _for askin'" She walked herself out of the galley as quickly as she could, ignoaring all the eyes that were on her and especially making sure her gaze didn't fall on Jayne.

With a sigh she got up off her bed to answer to knock on her shuttle door and wasn't totally surprised to see Kaylee standing there. 

"I'm sorry 'Nara but I could really do with you're help" Kaylee said as Inara moved out of the way to let her inside. She smiled and closed the door.

"Of course, I could do with the distraction. What's wrong?" she asked. Kaylee sat down cross legged on the floor.

"Do you think i'm pretty?" Kaylee said out of the blue. Inara looked a little surprised and she gave her friend a gentle smile as she sat near her.

"Of course I do _mei mei_, What makes you think other wise?" She asked. Kaylee took in a harsh shuddery breath.

"It's just...I dunno, you're so pretty and all and guys never see me as anythin' other than a grease monkey" she said. Inara put her hand on the small mechanics shoulder.

"Well, maybe there is a way to change that" She said. Kaylee looked confused.

"Well like how? I gotta wear this, ain't no point in wearin' anythin' fancy when i'm tinkerin' with the ship" she said. Inara shook her head.

"No but what about when you're not? You could easily get changed" She suggested. Kaylee smiled and nodded.

"Well yeah I spose..."

"And even when you're in those overall's, theres nothing wrong with a little customisation" She grinned. Kaylee still looked as confused as ever.

"I mean, you can wear them a different way, to flatter yourself a bit more"

"Yeah, you're right 'Nara" she said looking up at her friend and smiling, "I guess I just feel a little lost. Everyone treats me like i'm some helpless little girl. Don't get me wrong, I love the feelin' of being protected but sometimes I just wanna stand on my own" she said. An idea suddenly came into the companions head.

"Okay, the ship is in good working order yes?" She asked. Kaylee let out a snort of a laugh.

"Well as good as she's gonna git with these old _Fei-oo _parts but...yeah I guess so.." 

"In that case you and me are going to go shopping!" Kaylee shook her head.

"Oh 'Nara, I don't have much in the way of cash..." She began but Inara shook her head.  
"I can easily get you some things for free being a companion and all. We're going to get you new clothes, do your hair and then the girls are going to go on a night out" Kaylee smiled at the thought of a whole new her but somehow she wasn't sure the captain would approve.

"What about Cap'n Mal? He's not gonna be happy when he finds out that we..."

"You just leave the captain to me Kaylee. Come on, it's getting late, you better get to bed" She said. Inara was right, it was pretty late and Kaylee was really tired.

She liked the ship when it was like this. Quite. She could hear every clink or groan that the old metal made. It gave her a strange kind of inner peace that kept her going when things got really tough and right now, for her, things were really tough. Truth be told it bothered her that the mercenary was off with those whores and that he never seemed to give her a second look. Who could blame him though, she was covered in grease ninty percent of the time. Her hair was a mess most of the time and she lived in her overalls, even if they were rolled half the way down. 

Even though she was walking as lightly as she could, the boots she was wearing still made a heavy thud on the metal grating she was walking on. This sound didn't go un-noticed by Jayne who was sitting away cleaning his guns. He also had noticed that Kaylee was acting strange. Out of everyone on the boat she was probably the person he was closest to with the exception of Book. It bothered him to see her so quiet and withdrawn. He hopped up off his bunk and quickly climbed up in time to see Kaylee's back.

"You're up a little late ain't cha?" He said. The sudden noise in the dark making Kaylee jump and she turned around to see him sitting with his legs hanging in the gap that the ladders emerged from.

"God damn it Jayne you scared the bejesus outta me!" Kaylee exclaimed, holding onto her chest and getting her breath back. 

"Sorry bout that darlin', just was wondering who was up at this hour other than me" He said softly. She gave him a weak smile.

"Thats okay, I'm just headin' back to my bunk anyway" She said, giving him her most convincing, bubbly smile and turning to walk away.

"Kaylee" he said simply, making her turn around, "you sure you're okay?" He asked. She wasn't sure she could tell him that she was and make it look covincing. So she just gave him a weaker smile than the one before and a nod. He watched with a sigh as she spun on her heel and open the door to her bunk, sliding down the ladder and leaving him sitting in the dark hallway on his own. 

-------------------

Kaylee woke up early the next morning for the ship landing. She was so excited about going out with Inara that she had done all her duties early and was now in the process of brushing out her hair so that it sat straight. 

"Well if i'm gonna make an effort, may as well start now" She muttered to herself as she rummaged through her wardrobe. She pulled out a pair of dark denim hotpants and a leather belt pulling them on first with a pair of knee high, slightly chunky flat leather boots. With a grin she pulled out one of the only nice tops she owned. Inara had given it to her on her birthday, she just never had a place to wear it. It was a Kimono style top that stopped at the shoulders and had seperate sleeves that pulled on to just above the elbows. It was jade green with a black trim. Looking at herself in the mirror, Kaylee couldn't remember the last time she felt this good about herself. 

With a cheery smile she climbed up from her bunk and started walking towards the galley, only just able to hide her pleasure at the reaction of the people who were sitting having breakfast.

"Mornin' all" She said, walking in and heading straight to the fridge. Although she didn't look any of them in the face she could tell they were all stairing. She even heard Wash drop his peice of cutlery. 

"Good Morning Kaylee" Book said, deciding that if no-one else was going to speak then he would, "I have to say you're looking...very pretty" he said trying to find the right words. She beamed at him.

"Thanks Book, thats real nice of ya" She said with a grin as she poured herself out the last of the fruit juice and leaned against the counter looking out to the rest of the group. It gave her a nice bubbly feeling in the pit of her stomach to finally be seen as a cute girl and not just Kaylee, the mechanic who was always covered in grease.

"With all due respect to my stunning wife that is sitting right next to me" Wash began as he fished his fork out from his food, "You look really hot today!" He said, before kissing his wife on the cheek but Zoe wasn't mad. Even she was amazed at the transformation.

"Yeah, whats the occasion _mei mei_?" Mal asked from the doorway.

"Nothin' Cap'n. Jus goin' out is all" she said with a sweet smile before brushing past him and heading toward Inaras shuttle. The room was quiet for a while with Wash looking around himself frantically.

"Is is just me? Or did her legs grow over night?" Zoe shook her head.

"No dear, You've just never seen her legs before" She said taking a sip of her tea.

The only person who hadn't spoken the whole time had been Jayne. He had to admit the little mechanic scrubbed up well and she looked really pretty the way she was dressed. The overalls really didn't do her body any kind of justice but those hotpants sure did. He watched as her hips swayed from side to side in the demin and silk and without realising it he pushed himself up from the table leaving half a plate of food. He found her in the cargo hold strapping some sort of small purse to her leg. From far away it looked a little like a holster. 

"So whats really goin' on with the get up?" Jayne asked standing behind her, making her jump a little. She spun to face him and shrugged.

"Nothin', just didn' feel like wearin' dirty overalls to go out. You gotta a problem with what i'm wearin'?" She asked, her hands on her hips. Jayne shook his head.

"I ain't go no problem at all" he said, "You look real pretty" He added quitely. Kaylee blushed and smiled at him.

"Thanks, hey you need anythin' while i'm out?" she asked. He shook his head. She really did look too damn cute for her own good.


	2. Tattoo? What Tattoo?

The sun was hot as it beat down on Kaylee and Inara as they walked through the markets of the planet they had landed on. Mal hadn't exactly been thrilled that Inara has hijacked his companion for the day but in the end he really didn't get much of a say in the matter. Now both of them had their hands full of bags and we're both sporting a healthy glow from the sun. Kaylee couldn't remember the last time she felt so pretty, with pleanty of men checking her out. Not that she found any of them attractive but it was nice to get the attention. 

"So are you feeling better?" Inara asked. Kaylee just grinned.

"I'm thinkin' theres somethin' to this groomin' thing" Inara just laughed as the continued to walk. 

"Yes, I heard you had them quite speechless at breakfast this morning"

Up ahead Kaylee could hear music and singing, pulling Inara with her, she ran towards it to stand with the crowd. Infront of the crowd she could see an alter that was up some stairs. At the top was a stunning marble statue of a beautiful woman. She was posed like she was meditating, her legs crossed and her hands leaning on her knees. Kaylee had never seen someone look so striking except for Inara.

"Wow, she's so pretty lookin'" She muttered, mostly to herself but Inara nodded.

"I forgot the Leeloomini festival is on this week" She said, "It's a celebration of a goddess whi is said to keep evil at bay. The locals really get into it. She looks a little like you..." Kaylee stared at the statue for a moment before letting out a small snorted laugh and turning away.

"Naa, Shes way more glam'ros" Kaylee said with a blush.

After the final songs had finished and the crowds began to filter away, Kaylee noticed something. The statue was glowing. On the wrists of the statue, there were symbols that were letting off a silver white light. She felt drawn to them, like a moth floating around a lightbulb. 

"Gimme a sec, I wanna look at somethin'" She said quitely, her legs with a life of their own starting to wander toward the light. The closer she got the warmer she became inside, like the feeling you had when someone complimented you, all fuzzy. All she could concentrate on was the feeling, how loved and safe she was feeling. She didn't even notice that she was now surrounded by the same glow that had facinated her in the first place.

She could barely hear Inara shout to her to get out and suddenly the air she was breathing started to feel thick, clogging up lungs and filling her chest until she couldn't take a breath anymore. The last thing she felt before she closed her eyes was a stinging sensation on her wrists.

---------------

"So is she gonna be okay?"

"It's amazing, i've never seen anything like this!"  
"But is she gonna be okay?"

"Well...everything seems to be fine..."

"It's just lucky that she didn't split her head open on those stone steps"

"When did Kaylee get those tattoos?"

"What tattoos?"

"Those right there"

She hadn't opened her eyes yet but she could hear everyone talking and could feel someone gently tracing her right wrist with their fingers. It tickled a little and she couldn't help but giggle making everyone in the room turn her way and Jayne, who had been the one touching her, pull his hand away quickly.

"_Mei mei_?" Inara said "Are you awake?" Kaylee smiled as she opened her eyes and squinted at the bright white light that was burning her eyes.

"Surely am" Book frowned.

"Why won't you open you eyes Kaylee?" He asked.

"The lights are too bright is all, I'd be grateful if someone would turn em down" She said finally opening her eyes when the room dulled a little. 

"How do you feel?" Simon asked her as she pushed herself up, propping on her elbows. She groaned a little. 

"Like i've had way too much mudders milk" She said, wincing at the pain in her back. Simon sighed.

"Well you will, i'll give you something for the pain but you'll have a few bruises from the impact when you fainted" Kaylee just nodded but the room was tense. There was something that they weren't telling her.

"Why are y'all lookin' at me funny?"She asked, looking around the room at the faces of her shipmates who weren't meeting her gaze. Simon took a deep breath.

"Thing is...you shouldn't be alive. It's completely impossible! You're heart is beating over 300 times a second, you should be going into cardiac arrest" Simon said, his face a little bit manic. Kaylee sat still for a moment, concentrating on the beating in her chest. Simon was right, it was running a mile a minute. It was strange and slightly ticklish.

"Hmm" The small sound she made only managed to make Simon even more frantic.

"What! You are a medical Impossibility, you shouldn't be alive!" Jayne frowned hard.

"Well don't go complainin' bout it!" He shouted to the young man. Kaylee smiled at him, it was like they were sharing an silent joke.

"And all you can say is 'hmm'" Kaylee just nodded and pushed herself off the bed, standing on slightly shaky legs.

"Well, you can sit an think on that but i've got better things t'do so if you'll 'scuse me" She began moving towards the med bay doors but found herself being pulled back by Mal.

"Oh no, _mei mei_, Not this time. You're stayin' put till the Doc tells ya that you're sorted" Mal said, gently pushing the small mechanic back onto the bed. 

"But thats not fair! I feel fine!" She exclaimed, trying to hop of the bed again but this time being pushed back on by Wash. With a heavy sigh she fell back and scowled.

"_Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh ur-tze_" She muttered causing Mal's jaw to drop and Jayne to barely control his laugh.

"Kaywinnit Lee. I am goin' to forget the words that just came outta your mouth on account of the fact you've had a long day" He said with a small teasing smile. With a sigh she relaxed onto the bed.

"Alright, lets get this over with"

------------------------

After 3 hours of testing, blood taking and analysing Simon couldn't find anything wrong with Kaylee. Her heart beat was impossibly fast but her body was compensating for it, infact it looked like if it slowed down any she wouldn't be able to cope. Another thing he couldn't explain were the marks on her arms. The two strange symbols that just appeared as if from no-where, like they had been with her all her life. One of them looked like nothing but lines in a square formation all going in different directions while the other looked a little bit like a tear drop but with more tribal detail. The more Kaylee looked at them the more she liked them, they suited her.

She had finally been given the all clear, well, as much of an clear as she was going to get from Simon. Slowly she wandered through the corridors of the ship, going no where imparticular. She had changed out of her silk top and was now just wearing a fitted black tee with her hotpants, leather belts and boots. She was starting to like the feeling of having her legs free from the stuffy and sometimes uncomfortable overalls, plus the heating on the ship was on the fritz again making the temperature higher than normal. 

In the cargo hold she could hear grunting and the soun of metal clinking together and she supposed that it was Jayne doing his weights. She was right, Jayne wasn't in there alone though. Shepard Book and River were also in there, River facinated by what Jayne was doing.

"Kaylee, I see the young Doctor finally let you out" Book said as Kaylee decended the stairs. Her face broke into a grin at seeing other people. She was bored out of her mind in the med bay.

"Yeah, I was none too fond of bein' Simon's lab rat what with all the proddin' and the needles" She said, sitting herself down on a crate and fixing the buckles on her boots.

"M'arm looks like a damn pin cushion" She said holding her arms out infront of her and inspecting them for herself.

"Those marks are quite something. Tasteful" Book said, having a glance at the marks. Kaylee smiled.

"Ain't they? I'm startin' to like em, Tattoos without the pain n'all" She said, putting her arms down. Jayne got up and stole a glance as well.

"Ah tattoos don' hurt much" Jayne said, grabbing his towel and wiping the sweat from his face. "Jus a lil nip is all" Kaylee smiled.

"Yeah but there's a difference 'tween you n' me. You're a big tough guy who can take pain" She said hopping off the crate. 

No-one noticed River slowly sliding towards Jayne's things. Gently and as careful as she could she picked up his small collection of knives, staring at the blades, completely enchanted by the lights bouncing off the silver metal. Meanwhile Jayne was setting up the weights for Book, the two of them not noticing the small girl till she spoke.

"Somethings different" She said softly but loud enough for them all to hear. She walked opposite Kaylee on the other side of the room, the blades behind her back. Kaylee smiled.

"Nothings different _mei mei_" Kaylee said with a sweet smile. Sometimes River really made her nervous. This was one of those times. Book had stopped his reps, both him and Jayne interested to see where the exchange was going.

"You're different. You know new things...but you don't know" Jayne raised an eyebrow, Book sat looking thoughtful and Kaylee was just confused.

"Sorry _mei mei_, am not followin' ya" with a strangly satisfied smile River produced the knives from behind her back and Jayne's attention when straight to where he'd left his weapons.

"How the hell did she get those!" he exclaimed, not wanting to get too close to her. He didn't want another chest wound.

"River, _Bao Bei_, Put those down. You don't wanna be playin' with those" Kaylee said, inching her way forward with her hands outstretched. River smiled.

"I wonder..." River whispered. Suddenly the knife flew from Rivers hand, swinging through the air towards Kaylee. Without a second thought, Kaylee swiftly swung her right hand around and knocked the blade out of the air. The only sound that could be heard was the clattering of metal as the knife fell to the floor and Kaylee's heavy breathing. Book and Jayne stood perfectly still while River just grinned like a cheshire cat.

"Oh..Right. I didn't know I could do that" Kaylee muttered. Jayne shook his head.

"I ain't seen anyone ever do that..." He said and Book agreed.

"It's impossible thats why" the preacher said. Kaylee was shaking. It was bad enough having a knife thrown at you but to knock it clean out of the air like it was the most natural thing in the world freaked her out completely.

"See...I told you something was different" River giggled.

"Alright. Come on now, just put the knives down. Someones gonna get hurt" Kaylee said, once again trying to walk towards the small girl.

"Again" as soon as the words had left her lips she had thrown another knife. Automattically Kaylee knocked the blade from the air but this time with her left hand. 

"I'm not playin' anymore River stop it!" She shouted at the small girl who just laughed at the stress she was causing. Kaylee had never been so scared in her life but for some reason she wasn't scared that she was going to get hurt. She was scared of what she was doing. She hated weapons and was in no way skilled in hand to hand combat. 

"One more time" River laughed before launching the last knife that was in her hand towards Kaylee's face. She felt a strange feeling in her arms, like she couldn't control them and in the blink of an eye she was able to deduct that she wouldn't be able to knock the knife away in time. There was a loud clap that echoed through the cargo bay. 

"Now...THAT is impossible" Book said quitely as he and Jayne stared at the sight infront of them. There Kaylee stood with the knife that had been flying towards her face only seconds before sandwiched inbetween the plams of her two hands. She stood trembling for a moment before suddenly opening her hands and letting the knife fall to her feet.  
"_Gwai-gwai long duh dong_, How'd you do that?" Jayne asked gently walking towards her. He didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was.

"I...I dunno, I just...did" she said quitely looking down at the knife at her feet. Jayne bent down and picked it up putting it away in the holder that he was carrying. Her gaze was still on the floor and he gently touched her arm, fighting to hide his disappointment when she flinched a little. He reminded himself that she was just a little shell shocked and it wasn't anything personal.

"Come on darlin', lets get you calmed down"


	3. Impossible

Her shaking hands took the star printed mug that she always used from Book and she gave him a weak smile. He had made her a herbal remedy that he used to use at the abbey.

"Now if you don't like the taste then let me know and i'll make you a proper cup of tea" He said. Kaylee smiled again.

"Don't worry i'm sure it'll be just fine" she said taking a sip of the strange coloured liquid and screwing her face up at the bitter taste. One look from her and the preacher took the mug from her.

"Thanks" she muttered. Jayne was sitting next to her, around the corner of the table with his own mug of coffee.

"Feelin' any better?" he asked. Kaylee smiled and shrugged.

"I dunno. I'm jus' a little confused as to where that jus came from" She said. Book handed her the mug again and she smiled at him.

"Thats true, no offence darlin' but you ain't ever shown fighting skill before today. So i'm thinkin' its mighty strange that the same day you get knocked out by some freaky white light is the same day you wake up n' start doin' the impossible" Jayne said, taking a sip of his own coffee. Book sat next to her.  
"Jayne's right, it's more than a coincidence. What you were doing was..."

"Impossible I know!" Kaylee interupted, "Maybe i'm just really really lucky?" She said hoping that might be the answer even though she knew it wasn't. Jayne smiled.

"Well i'll tell ya what, tomorrow you n' me'll have a little sparrin' match. See if was just dumb luck" She grinned, her cheeks turning pink at the way he was smiling at her. 

"Sure, that sounds shiny. I'll try an' go easy on ya" She joked. Kaylee was finally starting to calm down and even feel a little proud of herself. As Book had said on more than one occasion, what she did was totally impossible. The friendly silence was shattered as Mal stormed into the Galley followed by Zoe and Simon.

"Would someone please explain to me what in the holy hell is going on in my ship? Jayne why the hell did you let River get a hold of your damn knives!" Mal screamed at the mercenary. Jayne scowled and was just about to fight back when Kaylee slammed her mug down and shot up from where she was sitting.

"CAP'N! It weren't Jayne's fault!" Kaylee exclaimed almost standing infront of the large man to shield him from the metaphorical bullets that Mal was shooting. Jayne smiled, he liked the feeling of someone defending him. It didn't happen often generally because he was an intimidating man and people believed that, most of the time, he was to blame. Mal shot Jayne a look.

"Is that so?" He asked. Kaylee nodded while Book came up beside her.

"It's true. I was there" he said. Kaylee grinned while Mal looked even more mad than when he first stormed in.

"Fine" he muttered turning to Simon, "Anythin' else happens like this with your sister again...and it's gonna be your head on the chopping block. Someone, namely Kaylee, could'a been killed" He spat and turned on his heel to walk away. Kaylee sat herself back down and Simon walked up to her, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Is that true? Did River really do that to do?" Simon said. Kaylee sighed not for the first time thoughout the whole exchange.

"Yes and oh i'm fine by the way" she said, picking up her mug again while Jayne sniggered at how blind the young Doctor was. He'd never really seen Kaylee lose her temper before, this was maybe about as close as he was ever gonna get. 

"I'm sorry! I don't mean to be harsh but...How are you alright?" He asked. Kaylee couldn't believe what she was hearing. Jayne shook his head while Book rolled his eyes.

"I mean...it's imp.." Suddenly Kaylee slammed her mug on the table causing some of the contents to spill and the three men in the room, even Jayne, to jump at the sudden outburst.

"IMPOSSIBLE! I KNOW" the small girl shouted and with a stomp of her foot she stormed off leaving Simon speechless. 

---------------------------

"Whats with the mats?" Kaylee asked as she walked down into the cargo bay. Book and Jayne had lined the floor with padded mats that Kaylee didn't even know existed. Jayne was standing there wearing a sleeveless top, 3/4 length cargos and the usual sweat band around his leg.

"Well now I didn't think you'd much care to crack your head off'a the metal floor" he said dropping the towel next to his weights. Simon frowned and stood to the side, still unsure if Kaylee was in a talking mood. She seemed to be but maybe not to him.

"Doc's here ta patch up any injuries" Jayne said walking towards Kaylee on the mat, "Now I don't plan on hurtin' ya but accidents do happen" he said softly, sending a shiver up Kaylee's spine. Sure she'd always known that Jayne was a good looking guy but she'd never thought him her type but she was starting to think she might have been wrong. She nodded over to Book.

"And I spose Book is here'ta help ya pray that ya don't get beat by a girl?" She teased. He grinned at her, God knows he loved a woman with a bit of fire about them.

"I'm'a make you eat those words" he grinned, stepping forward, "Okay, i'm gonna start slow, let ya know what i'm plannin' t'do. Give ya a fair chance t'start with. I'm gonna throw a few punches an' I want you t'block em"

He started slow at first and weak too only speeding up a little bit. Even though this had been his idea, he was still terrified that he injured the small mechanic. As he sped up, Kaylee began to speed up her blocks. His hesitation was getting annoying.

"Come on Jayne! Do this right!" She shouted, as she flipped from a block to a punch. It wasn't a hard punch but it wasn't exactly a medium punch either and it took Jayne totally by surprise.

"Oh you wanna play it that way? Alright darlin', lets dance" he growled with a smile. She grinned and without warning jumped up and kicked out, landing a kick to his shoulder that knocked him slighty off balance allowing her to kick out with the other leg, knocking him clean over. 

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Kaylee exclaimed as she scrambled over to Jayne as he lay on the ground. Kaylee let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when she realised he was only winded. 

"Yeah i'm good" He said, pushing himself up and leaning on his elbows, "Where the hell did ya learn how t'do that?" Kaylee shrugged and smiled.

"Impossible right?" He shook his head and lay back down again, gulping in air. Kaylee grinned and flopped down on her stomach next to him, her bare side brushing against his arm. She giggled and turned her head towards him, Jayne doing the same. 

"No power in the 'verse can stop me" she giggled. He grinned, this was a Kaylee he could get on board with. Don't get him wrong, he'd always had a soft spot for the girl but now she was playing by his rules and it was driving him crazy. 

"I don't doubt that Kaylee girl" he said pushing himself into a sitting postion as she rolled over onto her back. Her fitted black tshirt had moved up exposing her bare midriff, glistening with a sheen of sweat. One of her legs was bent at the knee while the other was stretched out. Jayne could feel his heart thudding in his chest and it wasn't from the exercise, she just looked so damn sexy lying back on the mat practically begging him to take her. She suddenly opened her eyes and she pushed herself up on her elbows, locking eyes with Jayne. The pair didn't even notice Book shooing Simon and River from the room as he excused himself. The sexual tension between the pair could be cut with a knife, you'd have to have been blind to not notice, so he thought it was appropriate for them all to leave.

"So...you wanna go again?" She asked. Jayne closed his eyes trying his best to block out the thoughts that were invading his head, which wasn't easy the way she was looking at him.

"If ya think ya can take it, sure" He growled. Without warning she had pounced on him and had pinned him to the ground, her hands holding him down by the wrist and the rest of her sitting on top of him. Not like he was about to complain.

"Ah, the art of taking someone by surprise" she grinned down at him as he just lay there, "But i'd like to bet that if you wanted to you could throw me off in a second" He smiled. He wasn't sure that he could.

"Thats true Darlin', i've jus' been too polite to point out that I could throw ya across the room...not that I would" he said quitely. After a moment she started to relax, realising that maybe he wasn't going to do anything and she could just slowly start to let go of the man. She could feel his arms relax under her but it was false security because as soon as her fingers loosened from around his wrists she found herself quickly being rolled over and most of his weight on top of her and his hands pinning her arms down.

"Well...can't say I didn't see this comin'" She said in between breaths, her chest heaving with the effort. It only took a second of eye contact for the tension to combust into a passionate kiss, his lips crushing against hers and her waiting mouth parting under the pressure. She moaned lightly as his tongue ran along hers and one of his hands ran down the side of her body, from the top of her shoulder and right down her leg. Her hands were working around the back of his neck and up into his hair. After a moment she pulled away.

"I...I thought you didn' kiss like that..." She said, breathing just as hard as he was. He shook his head a little bit.

"I don't..." he said softly. She just looked at him with doe eyes for a moment and he figured the best way to stop any further questions would be to continue kissing her. 

He wasn't sure how long they had been lying there in the cargo bay for but they were interupted by a squeak that he would have sworn didn't come from a man until they both looked around to see Simon standing there, his mouth hanging open at the sight infront of him.

"Sorry...I forgot my..uh...Med kit" he stuttered. It was quite a sight infront of him. Kaylee lying there not wearing much, her lips blushed from the kiss and Jayne practically lying on top of her. One of her arms pinned down with his hand and his other hand wandering over her skin, a sheen of sweat over the two of them. 

"Thats ok" Kaylee muttered, sliding herself out from under Jayne and pushing herself to her feet while Jayne pushed himself up to standing on his knees, "I..." She looked at Jayne, "WE were just leaving"


	4. Saviour of Judgement Day

"Kaylee? KAYLEE!" A crackled voice said over the com. The voice rang straight to her ears breaking her out of the most relaxing sleep she'd had in a long time. 

"Gorramit!" She muttered, leaning across Jaynes chest to hit the com button and answer the captain back before he woke up the entire ship. That is, if he hadn't already.

"Yeah Cap'n" Said said, her voice rough with sleep, "What d'you need?" She let go of the button and allowed herself to fall back on Jayne's bare chest, smiling when she felt a kiss being pressed against her head.

"I need ya to get to that engine now! Where the heck on this boat are ya!" Mal's voice crackled through again. Kaylee went to answer but before she could, Jayle lifted his arm to the com button.

"Sorry 'bout that Cap'n, she'll be with ya in just a sec" He growled, letting go of the button when he was finished and ignoaring the stream of obscenities that came flooding into the room. 

"He's gonna murder you ya know" She said, kissing him on the neck and making him growl.

"Ah let him try" He grinned, kissing her, "'Sides, if I just stand behind you, he won't take a swing for me" he said, lightly laughing. She hit him lighting on the chest and grinned. She hadn't been this happy in a long time but sadly their happiness was short lived as Mal's voice crackled into the room.

"GORRAMIT KAYLEE, GET A MOVE ON!" She rolled her eyes and planted one last kiss on Jayne's lips before pulling herself from his bunk and dragging her clothes on. She was just about to hop up the ladder when Jayne's voice drew her attention.

"So I'll see ya later?" He asked. She grinned at him and without saying a word, ran up the ladder.

----------------------

"So we're not gonna crash anymore?" Wash asked Kaylee as she walked into the Bridge. She smiled and rubbed her forehead with her fore arm.

"We're all good Wash, you jus' need ta concentrate on flyin' this bird" She muttered. Wash smiled.

"So...ya wanna talk bout' what you were doin' in Jayne's bunk" he asked with a cheeky smile. Kaylee lightly hit him on the shoulder.

"Not right now...damn I forgot the whole ship could hear that com!" She muttered. Wash laughed.

"Listen, i'm not gonna say a word. If it makes ya happy then why give that up. He does make ya happy right?" He asked. 

Kaylee thought for a moment. He really did make her happy, he made her laugh, he was comforting and he understood her because they had the same kind of backgrounds. Simon never understood her at all, he couldn't grasp the concept of really working with his hands. Sure, he was a Doctor but there was Doctors hands and then there were Working hands. 

"Yeah he does" She said softly. Wash smiled. He liked seeing his friend happy, God knows she deserved it. Suddenly a red light started flashing bathing them in crimson and a small alarm started going off.

"What is that?" Kaylee asked, leaning over the console. Wash pressed a few buttons.

"The planet, we're being waved" He said, "Apparently its urgent" He finished as Mal and most of the others jumped into the room, Jayne moving to stand behind Kaylee and putting his hand on her hip. No-one noticed the small mechanic lean back into him.

"What's goin' on?" Mal asked looking at the screen.

"We're being waved down, urgent. Should we check it out?" Wash asked, looking round at Mal who eventually nodded.

"Okay, never know. Might get something out of it" He muttered. Zoe rolled her eyes.

"It's that humanitarian attitude that makes me love being your first mate" She said, her voice full of sarcasm. Kaylee sighed, enjoying the feeling of Jayne's heart beat near her ear. Made her feel safe. Reluctantly they started to move out with the rest of the crew but found Mal's arm blocking the doorway so it was just the three of them on the bridge.

"Okay, we're gonna have us a little chat" Mal said, his voice low. Kaylee just nodded and walked back a little bit as did Jayne. She wanted enough distance between the captain and them.

"Now...I wanna know whats goin' on in my ship and I want the truth" He said. Kaylee knew exactly what was happening but at the same time she wasn't sure how to tell the captain without freaking Jayne out at the same time. Men tended to be flight animals when it came to matters of the heart. 

"Mei mei, you tell me the truth now, he take advantage of you?" 

"NO!" Kaylee shouted, scowling up at her captain. "It was me! I'm the one who...well...Yeah, it was me!" Mal had an eyebrow raised, not sure if he believed her.

"Really?" He said. The pair nodded, "So...what is this? Are ya a couple? A quick roll in the hay? What?" Kaylee suddenly felt a knot in her stomach. They hadn't really talked about that themselves and she knew exactly what Jayne was like. He'd whored his way around the 'verse more than once so she was pretty sure that the idea of going domestic wasn't going to thrill him even if the idea made her giddy.

"Uhh...well...Thing is Cap'n"

"I like her" Jayne suddenly said, taking the other two people in the room by surprise, "Simple as that Mal, I like her" 

Kaylee grinned as she felt his arms wrap around her, the butterflies in her stomach going crazy. Mal pondered for a moment, his mouth hanging loose.

"I ain't sayin' i'm gonna drop down on one knee anytime soon but...hell, things gotta start somewhere" He said. Mal was amazed. He'd never seen this side of the mercenary. 

"Well then...s'long as it doesn't hurt the runnin' of my ship.." Mal said. Kaylee grinned and jumped towards him, wrapping her captain in a hug.

"Thanks Cap'n" She grinned. He sighed and hugged her back.

"You're Welcome mei-mei" He said, "but remember what I said! Soon as things go south, i'm gonna come down hard!" As soon as the words had left his mouth the alarm started going again and Wash ran into the room.

"Everyone strap in, this is gonna be a rough landing!"

-----------------------

Wash hadn't been wrong. That landing had almost thrown the ship to land on her side but Wash managed to land Serenity upright. Kaylee stood up on shaky legs and looked around herself.

"Okay, looks like we've got a clean up t'do" She muttered, brushing the dust off herself. Not that it mattered, she was getting changed before heading onto the planet surface. River grabbed her hand and pulled her towards her bunk.

"Come on, gotta look the part" She muttered, pulling Kaylee along and leaving Jayne standing with an amused look on his face. 

"Where the hell are those girls?" Mal asked as everyone got kitted up in the Cargo bay, Jayne checking his guns and pulling Vera onto his back. 

"Sorry Cap'n!" Kaylee shouted running down the stairs. River had insisted on Kaylee wearing something pretty and picked her out her dark demin hotpants with layer leather belts and a silk top that she had bought when she was with Inara. It was short Kimono style without sleeves and was black trimmed in red. The only thing Kaylee had insisted on was her boots. Planet side was no place for flip flops. River had dressed herself in a dark blue mini dress and boots herself.

"Well now that we're dressed for the part we can go!" Mal exclaimed. River sneered at him.

"She had to! The people expect it" She muttered. Mal just shook his head and rolled his eyes, he could never understand it when River started ranting. 

"Lets move people!" He snapped. The crew began to filter out, Jayne walking beside Kaylee with River on the other side of her.

"So are you ready?" She asked Kaylee who, along with Jayne, gave her a puzzled look.

"Ready for what? Sun stroke?" She smiled. River shook her head.

"You're going to be tested" She said. Kaylee looked confused.

"Sorry...what?" River smiled at her.

"But don't worry, i'm going to help you" Kaylee smiled.  
"Well thanks, it's always nice to have help...even when I don't know what the heck i'm being tested on" She muttered. 

They were getting closer to the temple that Kaylee recognised at the place she got knocked out in. It looked different in the harsh noon sun, Kaylee had seen it surrounded by silks and markets but it still looked like a pretty building. There was a man standing infront of it, frantically scanning the crew members until his eyes fell on Kaylee.

"Praise be, she has returned!" He shouted, running towards her and wrapping his arms around the terrified girl. Jayne frowned and stepped forward, peeling the man off Kaylee.

"Lets keep a bit of distance, dong ma?" He growled. The man nodded quickly. He was jittery, like he'd had far too much coffee. His eyes were never focusing on the one place. Mal stepped forward.

"Uh...Hi! I'm Cap'n of this crew...who's returned?" he asked. By this time a crowd had gathered around them, all of the strangers staring at Kaylee and talking amoung themselves. 

"Our Warrior! The statue has chosen her to be our champion on the day of reckoning" Mal shook his head.

"Okay so thats why you waved us down..." The man frantically nodded again, his face lighting up. He looked towards Kaylee.

"It is a good thing you arrived today too!" Kaylee cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Why's that exactly..." Her voice quivered. She'd only just found her new talents and now she was being called a Warrior and the Saviour of the small population. The priest looked confused and slightly amused that she of all people didn't know.

"Well...because today is the day. Judgement day" 

Kaylee felt sick. The colour drained from her face and suddenly her legs felt like they wouldn't hold any weight. She hadn't realised that she'd grabbed Jaynes arm and that he was slightly holding her up.

"Well now, we better get everyone inside!" The priest exclaimed, his followers now ushering them towards the main entrace of the building and through the large doors. 

Inside she could see towns people spread out through the building, only a few possesions each. Make shift beds spread everywhere. As soon as the doors opened all eyes fell on Kaylee, who had to fight the urge to run the other way but Jaynes strong arm moving her forward helped a lot. 

"Don't worry Mei mei, whatever you've gotta face, we'll back ya up" Mal said placing a comforting arm on her shoulder. She smiled but it was broken when the priest spoke again.

"Oh no! The Warrior must do this alone, it's tradition!" Jayne snarrled.

"Like Hell she is!" He shouted. Mal shook his head at him and pulled him to one side. 

"Listen, she's not gonna...just make it seem like she is for now...then we'll jump out" Jayne growled but nodded anyway.

"These are yours I believe" The priest said. He handed two machette style swords to her, her hands feeling strangly comfortable around the metal. She smiled. Suddenly the feeling of dread was melting away and a strange confidence was filling her chest. Jayne eye'd the swords and walked up to her.  
"Nice metal work, You okay?" She smiled up at him.

"Y'know...I think I am...don't know why though" She said with a small laugh. Jayne didn't return her smile.

"I'll be fine y'know" She said quietly, he huffed then looked away for a second before turning back to his small girlfriend.

"Don't stop me worryin' bout ya Bao Bei, jus wantin' ya to be safe" He said. She smiled and kissed him before snuggling into his chest, taking in his earthy scent. 

Suddenly there was a loud crunching sound that made Kaylee instinctivly turn around. River was standing at the front door watching the three large ships touch down. With Jayne in tow, Kaylee looked out and followed Rivers gaze.

"Oh my God, Reevers" She said quietly. Behind her the priest was pushing everyone inside the building. This was her test. She was expected to fight off three ships full of Reevers on her own using nothing but two ancient swords.

"I'll help you" River said, her voice dreamy and light. Kaylee just nodded, her eyes never leaving the ships until the hatches opened. 

"EVERYONE INSIDE NOW!" She screamed to the others, Mal and the rest of the crew at her back. Quickly she turned and kissed Jayne, a desperate but terrified kiss.

"Promise me that if I get in trouble..you'll shoot me" she whispered to him, her forehead against his. Jayne's jaw set and his eyes closed. They'd only just become a couple, this was not a conversation he wanted to be having.

"Kaylee..."

"PROMISE ME" He nodded weakly.

"I promise" she kissed him again then turned, walking out the door with River by her side and the crew setting up a line behind her, despite the priests shouts.

--------------------------

They were just as they always looked. Growling, Snarling, Bleeding as they ran across the ground at an unnatural speed. Kaylee looked towards River.

"Okay...you said you'd be helping me...so...what do I do?" she asked. River smiled.

"Do what comes naturally" She said, her eyes not moving from the rabid horde that were powering towards them.

"Are you crazy! None of this comes naturally to me!" She shouted.

A warm feeling began to spead through her limbs, her hands spinning the blades like she'd been doing it all her life. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling, suddenly leaping from the top of the stairs at the same time as River into the sea of Reevers. It was like dancing, she thought, as she gracefully swung the swords, hacking through the bodies like they were butter. Even the shots that were being fired from the crew line was easily dodged like she'd been doing it all of her life. 

"Holy hell look at her move!" Mal said in awe of the mechanics actions. Jayne watched as his sweetheart hacked through the attack like she'd been doing it all her life. She was moving the same way River did. She looked beautiful, even in the most horrific of situations she still looked beautiful.

"They won't stop sir!" Zoe shouted. It was true, more and more Reevers were pouring from the ships and even though Kaylee and River were managing, Kaylee was starting to get a little tired. River looked towards her after kicking a Reever in the throat.

"Do it!" She shouted. Kaylee had no idea what she was talking about but the small girl was intent on getting through.

"Use the power!" She shouted. 

Something clicked in Kaylee's head. She landed from a kick she had just delivered and held her hands out to her sides, a stange tingling starting to run through her hands and temples. 

They watched as she blew the Reevers back from her, creating a wide circle for herself to stand in. Suddenly the Reevers stopped, frozen where they stood. Her head was throbbing with the effort. She could see into them, able to view every molecule of their being. Able to divide them. She could see them infront of her and she was tearing them, killing them. The metal strain was starting to make her nose bleed and it ran unchecked. 

The crew watched as each and everyone of the Reevers fell to the ground, unmoving. Not even a twitch. With a shaky breath she dropped her hands to her side and looked around her. 

"Did...Did I do this?" She muttered to herself. It was as if a cloud had suddenly been lifted, she was almost herself again appart from the tingling in the back of her head that was telling her all the new things she could do. She turned to her crew mates. Each of them standing up scanning the area and having a good look at the damange Kaylee had done. Jayne put his gun to the ground and watched Kaylee carefully, she didn't look healthy. She was covered in blood splatter and was swaying where she stood.

"I think she's gonna..." as soon as the words had left Wash's mouth Jayne had already sprinted down and caught her before her body hit the floor. 


	5. Chain of Command

Since they got back into the building, he had yet to put the mechanic down and he growled at anyone who even looked like they were going to remove her from his arms. It wasn't that Kaylee was passed out, she was completely awake but just worn out and comfortable against her mans chest. Mal walked over to them, Jayne's grip tightening just a little bit, as if Mal was going to snatch her away.

"How you feelin' mei mei?" He asked. Kaylee opened her eyes and gave a weak smile.

"Shiny Cap'n, jus' real tired is all" she said.

"I'm not surprised, that was quite a show ya put on out there" he said quietly, "You wanna explain to me how ya did it?" Kaylee shook her head.

"If ya don't mind Cap'n, I'm feeling mighty sleepy so i'll explain later" She said, slurring her words with sleep and burying her head further into Jayne's chest. 

"She'll speak to ya later Mal" He growled. Mal just nodded and walked away. Jayne hadn't meant any aggression against Mal but Kaylee brought out his protective side. She looked up at Jayne.

"When can we go back to the ship?" She asked softly. He pressed a kiss to her head.

"Soon bao-bei, real soon" He said quietly. He wasn't too impressed about how they were being made to stay put until the Reever bodies were gone. Something about tradition and how Serenity was locked down anyway, so here they were. Just sitting and waiting. 

"All I wanna do is get a shower an' crawl into bed" she muttered. The blood splatter had started to dry onto her skin and she was desperate to scrub it off. He smiled.

"I know baby"

--------------------------------

"And you're very sure that it's her?"

"Yes sir. Positive."

"Excellent. Wait, freeze frame. Who is that?" The video link froze on a picture of the girl in mid-battle. Her boot landed in a Reevers face and her silk top flying gracefully.

"File reads Kaywinnit Lee Frye. Mechanic on board the Serenity. A Firefly class ship. We brought them in over the Reever incident."

"Yes I remember now...is this the location they were last seen in?"

"Yes sir"

"Send a team out. I want both of those girls brought in alive"

---------------------------------

Kaylee grinned as she stepped into the Galley, the rest of the crew were sitting around relaxing while Kaylee had headed straight for a shower. Find that she wasn't too tired after having cleaned herself up. 

"How are you feeling mei mei?" Inara asked as the mechanic sat on Jayne's knee at the table across from the companion.

"I'm great, never better...well actually my legs are a little stiff" Said said with a smile, "I didn't know I could bend that way" She giggled. It amazed Inara at Jayne's sudden softening of personality when it came to the mechanic. She seemed to have a calming quality on him, even though as they spoke he was still sharpening one of his knives with his arms wrapped around her. 

"Well no wonder, you kicked backwards practically over your own head!" Inara exclaimed.

"Scorpion. Most effective way to induce trauma to the top of the skull" River said from across the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing for a second to look over at the troubled girl. Kaylee grinned at her, suddenly understanding the girl just a tiny bit more.

"Thats true River" She said cheerfully and got up off Jayne's knee to get herself something to drink. 

"You'll have to teach me that one sometime!" Zoe called from across the room. Wash rolled his eyes.

"Yes wife, because thats what you need. To be more deadly" He quipped, suddenly turning very sheepish at her stare, "Love you though!"

"Sure I will...soon as I 'member how t'do it myself!" Kaylee said, sitting back down on Jayne's knee and kissing him on the cheek. The rest of the room suddenly went quiet again, all eyes on Jayne and Kaylee.

"Oh i'm sorry...did y'all wanna take a picture?" Said said with an innocent smile. The others quickly went back to their own activities and left the couple to it. She couldn't supress the giggle as he whispered in her ear.

"I'm thinkin' we should move this t'the bunk" He whispered, his voice was barely over a growl and his breath on her ear sent shivers down her spine. Without saying a word to anyone she grabbed his hand and they were gone from the Galley and in his bunk before anyone even realised they had gone.

She let out a moan, her nails raking at his sweat covered back as he moved in her. Her head was spinning with the sensation and she felt like she could hardly focus on his hand traveling down and supporting her back, his abs sliding over hers. It was amazing that he could be so rough but gentle at the same time. As he sped up she closed her eyes and let herself go, calling his name as she did before he let his weight fall on her, rolling off to the side so he didn't crush her completely. She lay her head on his damn chest, both of them still breathing hard. 

"You alright girl?" He asked, still slightly out of breath. She smiled and nodded against him.

"Yeah" It was all she had the energy to mutter but she backed it up by kissing his chest and he smiled, "Don't think i'll be walkin' for a while mind you. If my legs were sore before, I dread to think what they'll be like now" She said quietly. He laughed lightly.

"Well then, you'll just have t'stay here then..." She hit him lightly on the chest, joining in his laugh.

"Or you'll have t'carry me. Ship won't fly without me y'know" He nodded and sighed in contentment. He would happily never leave the bunk again if they could both stay they way they were. 

Suddenly their calm was broken by a loud voice that rang throughout the ship but this time it wasn't Mal's frantic voice. That Jayne and Kaylee could handle.

"This is Alliance Patrol. You are about to be boarded. Please ready you vessel for inspection" The voice rang, making Kaylee and Jayne jump from their bunk and quickly get dressed and as clean as they were going to get.

"Cap'n whats goin' on!" Kaylee asked as her and Jayne emerged from Jayne's bunk in time to start walking along side Mal. He frowned.

"I don't know mei-mei, But it's alliance so it's never good. I want everyone in the cargo bay and ready for this, for once we're pretty clean but I've got River and Simon hiding. They find them and it's game over" He said as they all marched towards the cargo area, Kaylee having to lightly jog to keep up with the taller men.

"Afternoon gentlemen, what brings you aboard our boat?" Mal said with a charming smile towards the Alliance general as the feds poured into the Cargo bay, a few of them making a bee line for Jayne to search him on account of the fact he was the biggest threat out of the crew. 

"We are looking for three fugatives two girls and a boy" The general said. Mal raised an eyebrow.

"Three? I thought the warrant out was only for two, the last time we were searched, an' cleared I might add, the warrant was only for two people" The general smiled at him.

"Something quite remarkable happened on a planet today. A girl standing only five foot seven...at the very most, took out over 200 Reevers using nothing but hand to hand combat" Jayne's jaw tightened and Kaylee let go of his hand, sliding back to sit behind some crates. He would have reached for his gun if the feds hadn't disarmed him. Mal pushed his panic down into the pit of his stomach and plastered a smile on his face.

"Is that right? Well that sounds real interestin' but I've got no idea what you're talkin' bout" The general smiled again.

"Come now Captain. I know she's here and i'm going to find her" he nodded and signaled forward with his hand, sending the soldiers pouring into the ship. She knew that if she was going to have any chance, she would need to keep moving. Jayne growled and watched as she slid off through a trap door in the side of the hull that lead down to engineering where she could maybe buy herself some time. 

River could feel them on the ship. Swarming and sliding over every surface like bacteria and for once they weren't just wanting to take her. They were looking for Kaylee too.

"River come on, we need to hide somewhere!" Simon exclaimed, holding his sister by the shoulders. She shook her head.

"Not just me anymore. They want the reader and the telepath" She said. Simon looked confused.

"What? Who? Kaylee? Is Kaylee a telepath?" River nodded.

"But she doesn't know it yet..." Simon just nodded.

"Okay but look we can't help her right now..."He thought for a moment. There would be no way for them both to hide without the feds catching one of them. He wasn't the one that they really wanted, they needed human weapons not a rogue doctor.

"I'm going to distract them. I want you to use your talents to find Kaylee and to hide! Okay?" He said looking deep into his sisters wide eyes. She nodded, understanding his logic. 

"Okay" She said, "Kaylee is with her best friend" She said. Simon looked puzzled.

"Inara?"

"No you boob. Serenity" Simon nodded. She must be hiding in one of the many small spaces in engineering. 

"Go. Be safe" Those were his last words to her as he ran from the room, shouting at the feds who all stupidly followed him back to the cargo bay. He couldn't fight but God he was good at running. He wasn't caught until he was back in the cargo bay and had all eyes on him.

"Damnit Simon, what the hell are ya doin'?" Mal muttered, looking up at the doctor. The general smiled. One down, two to go.

"Ah Mr Tam. How nice to see you! Just the man I was looking for" The generals voice was dripping in sarcasm. It made Mal sick and only reinforced his feelings on the alliance.

"Now, I'd like to bet that your sister and that cute little mechanic can't be far away" He said. Jayne growled and tried to shake free from the 4 men that were attempting to hold him. He didn't like the way the general was talking about Kaylee, made him uncomfortable. 

"You're not going to find them" Simon spat as the general just smiled.

"But we are Mr Tam, You see we need River. She is the most extraordinay being i've ever seen in a fight and a reader too" He said, pausing for a second, his mind pondering Kaylee.

"But this other girl, Kaywinnit Lee. She is also remarkable. I'm amazed we've never picked up on her before..." He began.

"What do ya want with her!" Jayne shouted, receiving a punch to the gut for his troubles. 

"Just think about what they could do as a team. We would never have to rely on Armies again!" Mal growled.

"They ain't machines! They're just young girls!" he groaned at the punch across his face. He hoped that the girls were having better luck.

------------------------

"Kaylee?" River whispered as she moved swiftly around the ship. She wasn't anywhere obvious for a start which wasn't a bad thing but since the feds weren't going to leave until they gave themselves up she wasn't sure hiding was the best idea. 

"River?" She heard Kaylee's small voice. Hidden under the grating beneith the engine was Kaylee, scrunched up into a ball as much as she could.

"We need to go. They won't stop looking" River said, helping pull Kaylee out and to her feet.

"But they'll take us away!" Kaylee said. River looked up at her friend sadly.

"Not if we put up a fight" she said giving the mechanic a wicked look. Kaylee smiled, "And it's not like we don't know how"

"Wait, we're more valuable to them alive than dead...I got an idea"

------------------------

"I am growing impatient" The general growled. It had been forty five minutes since they had invaded Serenity. They had almost turned the ship upside down and the only thing they had to show for it was Simon Tam who had given himself up and even at that, he wasn't the people they really wanted. 

"I dunno what t'tell you, No idea where they are" Mal said, bracing himself for another punch to the face or gut but this time one never came. 

"Lookin' for us?" came a shout from the walkway. Kaylee and River were both standing holding a gun each by their sides.

"Ah ladies, it's about time you showed face. After all this party is for you" He said, watching as they came down the stairs and towards him. 

"Well we figured you'd find us eventually, I just had to do my hair first" Kaylee quipped. Jayne felt sick, he had no idea what she was thinking and if she was honest, she wasn't sure her plan would really work.

"You ladies are just in time to see the show. You'd better say your goodbyes to your friends now, because in a moment none of them are going to be able to speak" Kaylee swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head, walking forward with River by her side.

"I don't think so. You're gonna let them go" She said. The general let out a bewildered laugh.  
"And what makes you think that?" He said, forgetting she was carrying a loaded gun. One of Jayne's loaded guns.

"Because if you so much as leave a finger print on any of them, we'll do this" 

Suddenly Kaylee and River both pointed the guns to their temples, Kaylee loving the look on the generals face. Their plan was going to work.

"Now...Kaylee..."  
"Only my friends call me that"

"Miss Lee, come on. We don't want to do anything that we will all regret" The general said. Jayne felt sick and for a moment thought that he'd forgotten to breath. It was bad enough that she had a gun to her head but his gun just made it so much worse. What would he do if she actually went through with it and shot herself? He shook his head, he didn't want to think about it.

"If you want us both without bullet holes in our heads, you get all your men offa this ship" She said. The general raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you think we need you both alive?" He bluffed.

The sound of both the hammers on the guns clicking back rang through the cargo area and Kaylee felt an immense satisfaction as everyone in the room shouted for her to stop. She smiled at him.

"That does. Now do we have a deal?" 

"We have a deal"

"How do I know you won't jus' shot us all once i've dropped the gun?" She asked and the general shook his head.

"Against a reader and a telepath? I'm not that stupid Miss Lee" 

She watched as the soldiers slowly filtered out of the ship, the gun never leaving her temple. As strong as she was acting, she really wanted nothing more than to drop the gun and run into Jayne's arms, have him tell her that everything was fine and it was just a bad dream that she was gonna wake up from. The general nodded to her, giving the two girls the all clear that everyone was off the ship. With a sigh, they both closed their eyes and dropped the guns to the floor with a loud clatter. 

"Well ladies. Shall we?" He grinned. The way he stared made Kaylee's skin crawl, but if it stopped anything happening to Jayne and the others she would do it. 

Jayne could feel something at the back of his head, a strange warm feeling that was spreading to his ears. He could have sworn he could hear Rivers voice inside of his head.

_"She loves you_" she said. He frowned. That was definately Rivers voice. Damn reader.

"What?" He muttered quietly. 

"_Don't say it! Think it!"_ she said inside his head. He sighed. This was going to be a very strange conversation.

"_Alright, fine. Now what are you talkin' about?"_

_"She's going to be okay. You're going to see her again"_

_"How'd you know that" _

_"Because i've seen it..."_

_"Seen what?"_

_"I know how its going to end. It's up to you to get to that ending"_

_"Gorramit girl, you ain't makin' any sense!"_

_"We're being taken to Miranda. Follow us!"_

Suddenly the warm feeling was gone and he was alone with his own, slightly confused thoughts. He could only watch as they hauled the two girls through the airlock. Turning away he felt like his insides were being pulled out, like he wanted to hit something until his hand couldn't function anymore. The image of the guns lying on the ground did nothing to stop those feelings. 


	6. What is your substance

"So what do we do now sir?" Zoe asked. They had all moved to the bridge, all appart from Jayne. He had refused to follow them and had gone straight to his bunk. Mal was all for dragging him out but Zoe convinced him that it maybe wasn't such a good idea.  
"First things first, I want someone to keep an eye on Jayne at all times. We all know he won't be thinking straight...well as straight as Jayne normally thinks. Anyway, I don't want him doin' anythin' stupid"

Everyone knew it was true. Jayne wasn't exactly the most level headed man at the most of times, Hell if you touched one of his guns he would look at you like he was going to break your fingers. Mal knew the big mercenary had fallen hard for Kaylee and he wasn't going to take it lying down.

"I'll go check on him now" Book said quietly. Out of all the people on the crew, other than Kaylee, his thought that he would be the one that Jayne would accept seeing the most.

"Jayne?" He called down into the bunk. On recieving no answer he decided to take the chance and go down anyway. The larger man sat examining the knuckles on his right hand. Blood was dripping from the small gashes that were across them, leaving small red dots on the floor.

"You should really let Simon see that hand son" Book said quietly, sitting himself down on one of the small chairs in the corner. Jayne didn't look at him.

"It's fine" He said, his words the only way Book knew that Jayne acknowledged his presence. It was one of the first times Book was lost for words with Jayne, normally he'd be able to tell him something that would make him feel better, as was the nature of their friendship.

"She'll be alright" He eventually settled on. Jayne looked up from his hand. His eyes were dead. His shoulders slumped. He looked the very inch of a broken man and it hurt Book to see him that way.

"Really? An' how d'you know that?" He said deadpan. Book sighed.

"Because we're going after them. The Captain is trying to follow the Alliance ships trail..."  
"No need" Jayne said cutting him off, "I already know where they're goin'" Book looked puzzled for a moment.

"How?"

"River told me. Handy, having a reader on board" He said. Book stood up.

"We have to tell the Captain" Jayne stood up with him, towering over the preacher.

"I will...soon as Vera's ready"

The room she woke up in was bare. Completely empty appart from a bunk for her to lie on and a seperate room that she suppose was meant to pass as a bathroom. It wasn't a large room either. Bigger than her bunk sure but at least her bunk was cosy, this was just a white box with a large glass window one of the sides. It was blacked out for now but she supposed that was for observation. Like she was a caged animal or something.

She was getting better with her knew found talents as well. She concentrated on trying to read what people were thinking and feeling, on enhancing her telepatic abilities. No wonder she always knew what move the Reevers were going to make before they made them. 

As she sat on her bunk the blackened window lit up and there stood a different general to the one that had picked them up. This one was small and wirey looking, with a gaunt face and short black hair. Small eyes too with tiny dots for pupils, not like Jayne's big inviting eyes at all. She felt a pang in her chest thinking of the big Mercenary. She missed him already and she hoped that he wasn't angry at her, if she hadn't given herself up they would have just arrested everyone or worse, shot them all. She fought back the tears as she walked closer to the window.

"I see you're finally awake" The generals voice wasn't the manliest she'd ever heard. Far too well spoken and high. "My name is General Bell. I hope you're enjoying your new room" He said. Kaylee sneered.

"It's a little bare don't 'cha think?" She said. He lighted lightly.

"Well what did you expect. We can't put anything in the room with a telepath, especially one with Psynchokinesis! Can't have you throwing things at my men when they come in. It's not polite" He quipped. Kaylee smiled. There was another skill she could work on.

"What are you going to do with us? Where's River?" She demanded. The man nodded to his left.

"She is in the quarentine cell right next door. It wasn't a safe option to put you both together" He started pacing up and down the window.

"You are both here because you are deadly. You can attack and fight with such precision that it simply shouldn't happen. You both know what move is going to be made...before your opponent even knows and that makes both of you the deadliest weapons in the world" He said. Kaylee shook her head and screwed her face up in distaste.

"Thats great but we're not going to do it. You'll have to kill me first" she said. The General Bell grinned at her.

"Oh my Dear, I think you will. All your abilities will count for nothing. Knock out Gas is a wonderful thing" 

As soon as the words left his mouth a strange cloud began to fill the room, making Kaylee dizzy and disorientated. 

"Son u'v a..." Was the last words she muttered before she hit the floor.

"Miranda? Why the hell would they be taken there?" Mal exclaimed, "It's a ghost planet" There was a light beeping from the console as Wash looked up the destination.

"Apprently not" He pointed to the screen, "Look at this, theres a hidden base just North of the landing strip. My bet is that they'll be in there" Mal nodded.

"I agree" Mal turned to the rest of his crew, "Okay, so I'm pretty sure an all out assault on the place isn't gonna work. I'm used to death traps but I have a feelin' that where their keeping out girls, it ain't gonna be a walk in the park to get to"

"I can get us in" Book said. They turned to him confused, "I don't have time to explain now but they won't stop me and two...guests from 'inspecting' the facilities" He said. Mal wasn't so sure it would work. It was too easy.

"I dunno, it seems too easy. You'd be taking a huge risk" The preacher nodded.

"That is true but I think it will be worth it" he said. Jayne gave a ghost of a smile. It made him feel a little better knowing where they were and that they had a way to get into the place.

"Now our only problem is finding where they would be, I'm willing to bet its a big place sir" Zoe said from her space on the console next to Wash. 

"Actually the main problem will be getting out with the two of them. Inspectors can easy view the new subjects without much of a problem" Mal smiled.

"Alright. Wash set a course for Miranda. Book, Jayne and Zoe are comin' with me to get our girls back" 

"What about me?!" Simon asked from the corner. 

"I need you to get the infirmary ready. I don't know how their gonna be when we get them out" Simon gulped a little and nodded. He knew it was true, mostly likely someone from the party would need medical attention before the day was out.

Her head was pounding when she woke up. It was only when she tried to move her legs and arms that she realised she was strapped down. 

"Wha' the hell?" She said lightly, still dizzy from the gas.

"Ah! You're finally awake" She could hear general Bell's voice drifting around her head, "I'm sorry about the buisness with the gas but you hardly expect us to walking into a telepaths cell carrying a needle now do you?" He seemed almost amused by the concept.

"What are ya goin' to do with me?" She asked, struggling in vain again the straps. He smiled at her.

"Well you see you both have some amazing abilities but right now you won't use those abilities to our advantage. We have developed a way of modifying your behavioral patterns to make you a little more...compliant" She growled at him. Her abilities had been almost switched off in a sense thanks to the strange headband they had put on her.

"Kaylee?" She heard Rivers voice from behind her, guessing that she was also strapped to the same kind of bed, "Is that you?"  
"Its me mei-mei, don't worry. Everything's gonna be okay!" She said, struggling to make herself believe it. The room was freezing and the clothes they had changed her into weren't exactly a lot. A pair of small black shorts and a fitted black tee and no boots. She shivered.

"Now if you'll just relax ladies, this sensation might be a little uncomfortable"

All of a sudden her body felt fuzzy then prickly, like hundreds of tiny needles were prodding at her skin. Uncomfortable didn't even begin to describe what she was feeling. Then she could see something, a vision maybe? She could see Jayne back at the whore house with his arm around the prettiest one there, the other girls all fawning over him. She walked over to him, standing directly infront of him but he couldn't see her. She didn't exist in this fantasy, just helpless to watch on. 

"Jayne? Jayne its me!" She shouted to him, but he continued to drink and laugh with the painted harlots. Kaylee knew this was some trick but it hurt never the less. Then he heard him speak.

"Girlfriend? Naw I ain't got no girlfriend! Free man!" He said. One of the girls in the green dress wearing way too much make-up asked him about the small girl in the rolled down over-alls.  
"Ah thats just Kaylee"

It was that sentence that really made her hurt. She felt like someone had shot her in the chest. She felt sick. Stumbling backwards, she tried to get away from the scene as best as possible. She practically shouldered the 'door' to the building off its holdings. 

"Not real. Not real. Not real" She said the little mantra to herself over and over but it wasn't helping, the bile in the back of her throat was building until she stopped on the sandy ground, doubling over and throwing up. 

"Now THAT is interesting" General Bell said as he watched the unconcious body of Kaywinnit Lee suddenly shake violently and cough blood from her mouth.

"Very interesting indeed. Some clean her up!"

She picked herself up, wiping her mouth and groaning. That hadn't made her feel any better, if anything it had just made her feel worse. Lookin around herself, all she could see was desert. Nothing but yellow dirt and the blue sky above. She had never felt so small in her life but then, maybe that was the whole point. Make her feel so small that all she could do was fight and fight and fight, until her body just gave up. So thats what she did. She gave up and let herself fall to the ground. Lying there alone on the hot dirt.

"Stop the programme!" Bell demanded. A man in white pressed a few switches and slowly Kaylee came to life.

"That...was an interesting session" He said, "Very interesting indeed" Kaylee didn't like the way he was looking at her, his eyes snaking around her half dressed body. It made her want to vomit all over again but the taste in her mouth was different. Copper. Was that blood?

"We will continue this in a couple of hours Miss Frye" Those were the last words she heard before feeling the needle digging into her neck, sending her back into a quiet coma. 

"So are you going to tell us then?" Mal said to book as the 4 got prepared in the Galley. Book smiled, not looking at the Captain and shook his head.

"Not right now but I will" Mal frowned while Zoe and Jayne decided to focus on the job at hand. Getting prepared.

"Well I think it's important so..."

"Captain. What is more important right now? Having my life story on concentrating on getting our girls free? There will be pleanty of time to tell all when we're done" He said.  
"He's right, it's not the time right now" Jayne said. Mal turned to him.

"Now you gotta promise me that you'll keep your cool while we're in there. This is gonna be hard enough without a fight being started before it has to, dong ma?" Jayne nodded but his face remained still and serious. Mal backed away.

"Okay...long as we're clear..." He said quietly, leaving the mercenary to gear up.

"But you're not taking Vera!" as soon as the words left his mouth an alarm went off, the red light covering the galley and Wash's voice crackling through the com.

"You're gonna wanna see this Cap'n, we're coming up to something big!"

After waking up, Kaylee pulled herself from her plain bunk and had a shower. At least they were civil enough to provide basic hygine facilities and considering she had worked up a good sweat from the mental workout they gave her, she needed one. With a sigh she plaited her hair back into two identical sections, tying the plaits off at the nape of her neck and leaving the rest of the hair to hang free in two poiny tails. She figured it would be the easiest way to keep her hair under control. 

She grinned when she returned to her room. River was sitting on the floor smiling up at her.

"How did you get in here!?" Kaylee exclaimed, rushing over and hugging her friend tightly as if she was going to be taken away from her again. 

"They let me come" she said. Suddenly the light turned on in the blacked out window and General Bell stood there.

"Yes. I thought thay maybe it was a better idea to have the two of you together. Mental stimulation is better for your progress" He smiled, looking Kaylee up and down. She could have sworn she felt her skin crawl. 

"Well, I can't say i'm not pleased..." Kaylee muttered. The screen went black again and Kaylee sighed. Staring into the blackness for a moment before joining River, cross legged on the floor.

"How are you sweetie?" Kaylee said quietly. River had her eyes closed, apparently in deep thought. Kaylee frowned when she didn't respond.

"River? Everythin' alright?"

Once again she didn't say anything and Kaylee frowned. Maybe River was doing this on purpose, she thought, or maybe they had given her something to make her quite. That was a type of punishment, River being with her but unable to communicate. Something was twitching at the back of her head, like an itch that she couldn't scratch, even when her hand went up to rub the back of her head. 

"_Don't worry, it's me_" She could hear River say inside her head. With a small smile she closed her eyes, concentrating on the feeling. When she opened her eyes again she was in a field. The sun was warm on her shoulders and face and there was a light breeze that was taking the edge of. No noise could be heard, only the light bubbling of the stream they were sitting near and a few birds in the trees on the other side. It was as near perfect as planet side could get.

"Where are we?" Kaylee asked, still sitting opposite River. The younger girl smiled her, looking all around.

"It's your sub concious. Nice one too! I'm especially impressed with the detail of the birds and the stream" Kaylee smiled.

"I s'pose it is very...me" she said, "But how am I in here too?" River screwed her face up.

"Well it is your brain dummy, but come on, you're a telepath! This is the easiest way for us to talk without them hearing" Kaylee nodded.

"I'm liking this superhuman thing...y'know appart from the being taken by the alliance part" She said sadly, "How are we gonna get out of here?"

River looked down in thought for a moment. It wasn't exactly going to be easy, even if they did escape from the facility they had no way of getting off world and no way of waving down Serenity. 

"We have no way of getting to Serenity even if we do get out" River said, "But they know where we are. I'm sure they're coming for us" She said. Kaylee frowned.

"How do they know that?" She asked. River grinned.

"I told Jayne before we left" Suddenly the sun shone a little bit brighter, the heat touching both girls skin. River could feel Kaylee glowing at the mention of his name.

"You miss him don't you?" She asked. Kaylee just nodded and looked down at her knees.

"It's just...God, this is so freakin' typical! Something good finally happens for me an' then...Boom! It all goes bad!" She sulked. The sun began to lose its heat and the cold breeze picked up, indicating Kaylee's mood going south.

"Don't worry. He's coming for us and we're stronger than this. You know we are!" 

"What are they doing?" General Bell asked himself. He had been watching ever since he had blacked out the window, standing in the dark watching the small telepath as she stood staring back at him. Her face was sad but beautiful because of it, she was almost looking straight at him. Part of him wanted to believe that was what she was doing. His favorite thing about her face was her eyes wide hazel pools that pulled him in everytime he looked at them. Only she was never looking at him. She was looking through him. 

It had been the same his entire life. From his mother favoring his older brothers to his now ex-wife leaving him. All of them looked through him and there was only so much of that a man could take before he snapped. 

"From fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty's rose might never die" He muttered, watching as she moved gracefully over to sit opposite River and going into an apparently trance like state. 

"What is your substance, whereof are you made, That millions of strange shadows on you tend?"

Authors Note: sorry I forgot to mention that in the last chapter there was a small section of M rated material.

Also General Bells words are from Shakespear's 1st and 53rd Sonnet. 


	7. Soft, What Light

"Well now, who'd have thought it huh? A plan that _isn't_ going right..." Mal muttered as he looked out into the black and the sight infront of him.

"I told you sir, its all Reever space!" Zoe snapped standing next to her husband. Jayne sneered. The ship was only far away enough for the Reevers to not notice them.

"How many?" Simon did his best to keep his voice level, but he was terrified. The stories he'd heard about Reevers kept him awake at night as a child and didn't do much for him now he was grown.

"There's gotta be at least thirty ships out there..." Wash said quietly, "How the hell do you plan on getting us past them?"

"If they recognise us as human, they'll grab hold of us an' board 'fore we can blink" Jayne growled in distaste, his eyes on the ships floating infront of him.

"There might be a chance..." Wash was quickly cut off by Mal.

"No chance. One ship, sure. Two, it's still risky but thirty, theres no way at least one of them wouldn't notice we exist" He sighed.

"What if we go without core containment? Just enough so that we could read as a Reever ship?" Zoe said. Mal screwed his face up.

"Hmm I dunno, it's risky. The outside of our ship don't exactly match in with theirs" He was right too. Reever ships were mangled from the outside, all red paint, barbed wire and dead bodies. It turned the blood.

"Probably the only way Mal, 'less you fancy a dog fight that we won't win" Jayne said crossing his arms over his chest. Mal sighed.

"Alright, how long?" Wash shrugged and suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

"Thing is, core containment is really Kaylee's department" He said, avoiding all eye contact with Jayne, "I can do it...but it's going to take a while"

"We don't have the time!" Jayne shouted making Wash frown and stand up against him.

"You wanna get fried by radiation?! Cause if I don't do this properly thats whats gonna happen! We'll all die and then no-one will be able to get Kaylee and River out" He was right and Jayne knew it. He sighed and took a step back from the pilot, running his hand over his hair. Mal couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the man so stressed but it's not like he could blame him. He'd feel the same if it was Inara in the same situation.

"Jayne and Wash, get to engineering. I need both of you to work on the core" He looked to Jayne, "I know we need to be quick but just remember, if we all die...no-one can help those girls"

General Bell watched as another sob wracked Kaylee's body, making her fight against the restraints. They were making her dream again. Making her feel so small that she would have nothing left other than the facility. He watched the sweat roll down her neck as her chest heaved with the effort of breathing, gasping for air.

They were looking right through her, not at her. Jayne walking past her without so much as a nod, Mal ignoaring her shouts for help. She was frantically running around her ship begging for someone just to see her, to even feel her presence. With a shudder she let herself drop to the floor, curling up into a ball in the cargo bay, tears running freely down her cheeks.

"Help me" Her voice was hardly above a whisper. Helpless and without anything to live for. Her eyeline could see a pair of boots walking infront of where she lay. They were spotless and shiny, nothing like the kind anyone she knew...or used to know would wear. The figure knelt down next to her, a warm hand lying on her shoulder but she didn't turn to look.

"There there, little Kaylee. So lost. So alone" He said, his voice soft but patronising at the same time, "but never helpless" General Bell pulled her to her feet and forced her to look him in his small beady eyes.

They were warm and inviting, like the sea on a gentle summers day. With shaky hands she reached up to stroke his face, unable to believe it was him. He who had walked past her only a few moments earlier without so much as looking at her. He smiled and touched her hand with his own as she traced his goatee and she felt safe near his large warm body as he pulled her in close.

"Because i'm always here" He said. His voice didn't match. It wasn't warm with that low growl that drove her crazy. It was higher and far too proper. With a shreak she tried her best to push him away, her wrists held hard as she sobbed and crumbled to the floor only being held up by her arms.

"Resistance is useless little Kaylee..."

Her eyes flew open and once again she found herself bound to the table in the freezing cold dull room, a strange contraption on her head. Despite it being so cold she was drenched in sweat, her top was soaking.

"Well we appear to have made some very interesting progress today, from both of you" General Bell said with a wide shark toothed grin that made Kaylee want to throw up, "I'll let the two of you get freshened up and fed then its on to physical apptitude"

That was the last the two girls heard. They were both knocked out for transport back to the quarantine.

She hadn't stopped shivering since they had brought her and River back to their cell. She was far too disturbed. The face if someone that she loved and found comfort in had suddenly changed and she no longer felt safe. The thought of it made her stomach turn and her skin crawl. How dare he take something that meant so much to her and twist it for his own sick ends. She should have known when she first touched his skin, it wasn't warm and inviting. It was hard and cold and didn't have that earthy smell.

"Not real" River said, sitting next to her friend on the floor, "Can't let them take the feeling away" Kaylee frowned sadly.

"What feelin'?" She asked. River smiled and prodded her in the chest where her heart was.

"That one... He's coming to get you" Kaylee smiled at the thought, focusing on the feeling of being in his arms again. All wrapped up nice and safe in his bunk. River shook her head.

"Not Jayne. One who would hurt you" Her eyes were wide and full of fear, her lower lip quivering. Kaylee touched River on the knee only to be met with shout. Kaylee may have been a telepath but River could see what was coming.

"What is it? What can you see?" Kaylee asked quietly. River shook her head again.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered. Kaylee grabbed her by the shoulders, frantically trying to get an answer from her.

"If i'm in danger ya need t'tell me please!" She begged the small reader who was quickly becoming a quivering wreck on the floor. Kaylee was terrified, most times when River saw something that was going to happen she was right and this time it was about Kaylee, only Kaylee didn't know what was going to happen. Or When.

The two men worked mostly in silence, it was no great secret that Wash and Jayne didn't always see eye to eye on things. Wash's sense of humour and Jayne's explosive temper tended to clash often. Jayne was on his back under the Core control, small clinks and clangs coming from where his wrench was working. Wash was impressed, Jayne knew mostly what he was doing and was only using Wash for advice.

"Where'd you learn how t'do that?" Wash asked the big man, kneeling next to him, "It would have taken me twice as long t'do this" Jayne's hand reached around until Wash handed him a screw driver.

"Most times i'm in here I tend t'watch Kaylee do her thing" He said, his voice slightly muffled, "Guess I picked up a few pointers" Wash smiled.

"I'll say, it's lookin' good" He paused for a minute. Wondering if he should broach the subject of the small mechanic, "So..you and Kaylee huh?"

There was silence for a moment.

"Yup"

"Thats...well, i'm not gonna say I ain't a little shocked" Wash said. He heard a small clunk from under the unit and a hand shoot out to grab a wrench. Wash relaxed when he heard a light laugh.  
"Most people are, Sweet girl like that goin' with a guy like me. Don't happen too often" He said, Wash nodded in understanding.

"I kinda know what you mean. Think people ain't shocked to find out that a warrior woman like Zoe is with a guy like me. She's the one who goes out, shoots people, get into fights..." He said with a smile, "but man I love that about her, gotta love a woman with fire!" Jayne nodded with a grin.

"I know what'cha mean. Kaylee's so sweet but man, ya piss her off an' you ain't gonna be seein' the light of day for a while" He put the wrench down and pushed himself out from under the core, rubbing the sweat from his forehead with his forearm.

"So, did it just happen or..."

"Jus'...worked is all" Jayne said as he checked the meter on the core unit, "We jus' get each other. No demands, nothin' complicated about it" Wash smiled. This was the first time he'd ever seen a softer side to the mercenary.

"An' it jus' kills me that she ain't right here with me" He said softly, "That she's scared somewhere an' I can't do anythin' about it" Wash frowned.

"Jayne, what does it look like you're doin' right now! We're gonna get em both back an' I feel sorry for the poor Hwoon Dahn that you get a hold of first!" Jayne laughed a small bitter laugh.

"Y'know Wash, I kinda do too..."

They were in her head again. Prodding and poking and pulling out her deepest darkest fears to the surface. Her chest hurt, her head hurt and she could hear her blood pounding in her ears.

"You know this would be easier for you if you stopped resisting" She heard General Bell purr in her ear. It didn't help the sick feeling she was getting. General Bell watched her. This time she was totally concious and aware of what was happening to her, his sadistic manner coming to the surface.

"Now little Kaylee, we're going to see what you can really do" he told her as she was knocked out not for the first time that day.

When she woke she found herself in a large room, padded mats on the floor that felt soft but cold under her feet as she stood up. Her vision went to a table at the side, covered in all manner of weapons from knives and guns to nunchuks and Rope darts with a spiked ball on the end. Slowly she scanned the table picking up a knife but suddenly dropping it in fright as a noise from the other end of the room startled her.

River walked in and looked as confused as she did, also walking over to the table.

"They expect us to fight" River said plainly. Kaylee nodded, as soon as she had seen her friend in the same room she knew that would be the case.

"I know" Kaylee said quietly, "But i'm not gonna use any weapons. I don't wanna hurt you" River smiled playfully.

"Oh, you think you're gonna hurt me?" Kaylee grinned, catching on to the younger girls playful tone.

"I think I could give ya a run for yer' Money!" Kaylee goaded as they began to walk onto the mat, not taking their eyes away from each other. River nodded in fake contemplation before suddenly running at her, a blur of kicks and punches that Kaylee blocked easily. She was grinning ear to ear as she did, enjoying the competition.

"Alright, not bad" She quipped, catching the both girls arms and holding them infront of her before flipping her over her back causing River to land on the mat and kick out, knocking Kaylee down with her.

Suddenly her chest felt tight and there was burning sensation in her throat, her hand flying to her neck as she fought for breath. Her mind was a blur of memories. Her and Jayne play fighting, lying down next to him, pinning him down, flipping her over, kissing her...

_"Thought you didn' kiss like that..."_

_"I don't.."_

"What is she doing?" General Bell asked his assistant as they watched from the observation room down onto the pair of girls. Kaylee was lying on her back and breathing hard, a sheen of sweat over her curvy toned body. He watched her, how her tee had ridden up to just under her breasts. It was driving him mad and he found himself panting without realising it, his assistants all sharing eye contact with one another but helpless to speak up against their General.

"Sir?" one of them said snapping him back to attention. He ground his teeth.

"Get River out and back to her room. Sedate Kaylee and take her to the dampening room. I'm going to have a little one on one session with our resident telepath" He spat. The assistant nodded gravely as General Bell stormed from the room. He looked down at the mechanic, still fighting for breath on the ground.

"I'm sorry...i'm so sorry..."


	8. Close Your Eyes and It's Not Real

The tension could be cut with a knife on the bridge of the ship. Everyone stood not saying a word. Wash's shoulders were so tense they were starting to hurt him but he wouldn't allow himself to shake, he had to stay in control to keep the ship flying properly. Serenity was edging closer and closer to Reever space. Book was muttering prayers to himself and for once Mal wasn't telling him to keep it quiet. Sometimes you just needed a little bit of faith, even if you didn't have any to start with.

Jayne held his breath, only exhaling when he really needed to, as if the Reevers were going to hear him. There wasn't much he was afraid of but one of them had already happened to him and he wasn't about to get snatched by Reevers too.

"Ow...Ow...Zoe...Baby...Let..." Wash muttered quietly to his wife. She hadn't realised that she'd been squeezing his hand so hard that when she removed her fingers there were white patches along where they had lay.

"Sorry..." She whispered. She hadn't thought she would be so nervous but then she didn't like the idea of being raped and having her skin make into a shirt. She liked her skin where it was.

Over the open channel they could hear the terrified screams of poor unfortunate victims that had drifted or been dragged into their territory. Jayne was desperate for them to switch it off but it was the only warning they would have of a sudden attack.

So Far...So Good...

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

She let out a shuddery breath as she was laid back on the bed of the Dampening room. It was specially built to stop telepath, readers and psycokinetics using their talents. This meant people like General Bell could do anything they wanted to without coming under any kind of phycological attack. The assistants gave her one last sympathetic look as they strapped her in, the cold leather sticking to her sweat covered body.

She was sick of feeling dirty. Sick of being scared. Sick of having to fight for herself. She never realised how much she enjoyed the feeling of being protected, having someone stand up for her and take the pain away until she had to do it for herself. Not that at first she didn't find it exciting but right now she wanted someone to just take her away.

Her vision was foggy as she looked ahead of her and up to the ceiling, she figured there was no-where else she could look to find comfort. She heard the door open and close with a sliding sound. The dampening lock closing behind him.

"My tongue-tied muse in manners holds her still" She heard General Bell mutter as he circled the bed/table that she was strapped to, "Don't worry now, I'm not going to do anything to your mind this time. What I want is from you alone"

She lay ridgid, helpless to do anything other than take whatever he was about to throw at her. What could he do? She was strapped down and anything he had in mind he'd need to let her free at least enough to get a good kick in. That relaxed her some. He wasn't strong enough to carry her dead weight.

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you look? How the light dances in your eyes? How gracefully you move?" He said softly.

_"Nothin', just didn' feel like wearin' dirty overalls to go out. You gotta a problem with what i'm wearin'?" _

_"I ain't go no problem at all" "You look real pretty" _

She shivered as the memory hit her like a wave. It was harder and harder to stop the pain in her chest from the memories of Jayne. The false feelings they had imprinted on her making her feel sick. She wasn't going to believe anything until he was right there next to her, until she could feel him and sense him. All of him.

"I'm almost certain someone has before. I mean look at you, you're a vision" He let out a breath that make Kaylee's skin crawl, his breath was so close to her skin she could feel it lightly blow with every word. She was tensing her muscles, fighting against the bonds that were holding her down.

"Being your slave what should I do but tend, Upon the hours, and times of your desire?" He said, tracing his hand over her body. She froze at his touch but was unable to imagine that it was anyone else. Jayne's hands were warm, gentle and passionate in his touch. Bell was cold and almost timid, like he was touching something that was going shock him. A single tear slipped from the corner of Kaylees eyes, rolling down the side of her face to below her ears.

"But you don't want that do you?" He lifted himself up and turned his back to her, sneering, "Because there is someone else. I can see it all over your face. He was the last person to touch you, the last person to kiss you, the last person to hold you like you were the most precious thing in the universe" He quickly spun around.

"And he's not coming for you"

If she had the strength to sob she would have but if there was one thing she'd learned from Jayne, it was to never show weakness. Especially at a time like this. Her wrists were starting to bruise where she was held down and silently struggling against the bonds. Slowly he walked over to the cupboard and pulled out what looked like a soother but the liquid was purple.

"Now this is very interesting stuff. Such a nice colour too don't you think?" He sneered when she didn't answer him or look at him, "See it haults the signals from your brain to your limbs, those signals that tell you to punch, kick, bite...or scream" He walked over to her and the closer he got the bigger his eyes became, Manic and wild.

"I will break you and when I do" He said, injecting the entire ammount into her neck, "I want you to know _exactly _whats going on"

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

"We're almost outta the woods captain" Wash said quietly as the Reever ships began to thin in numbers the closer they got to the big blue planet.

"Just keep on course" Mal said, watching the ships. Suddenly the ship shook hard causing Simon and Book to almost fall over and Jayne to steady himself against the console.

"What the hell was that!?" Zoe shouted. Wash scowled.

"No no no no no NO!" He shouted frantically pressing buttons, "It a magnetic grapple, one of them has us!"  
"Can we break free?" Jayne shouted over the buzz of alarms and the loud crashing.

"Only if we go for full burn and there still a chance they'll chase us" he said. Mal's heart was thudding in his chest, this is exactly what Mal had been afraid of.

"Go for full burn!" He shouted. As soon as the words had left his mouth Wash slammed his hand down on a level and the ship shuddered and creaked as they slowly began to rip away from the large magnet that was holding them. The lights began to flicker, the screen began to fog up and there was a large explosion where one half of the thrusters was violently torn off as they broke away from the grapple.  
"Come on Wash will ya do your job and fly!?" Jayne shouted over the alarms. Wash ignoared everyones shouts, it was hard enough to fly a ship with only one thruster that was in a horizontal spin towards a planet without everyone screaming in your ear.

Thinking on his feet he spun the other thruster around and used the lower landing gear to try and equalise the pressure and weight.

"Report!" Mal Barked as everyone else held on for dear life.  
"I've managed to stop the spinning but its gonna be a rough landing!" He shouted over the turbulance and the creaking as the ship hit the atmosphere with a bang.

"Good news, the Reevers ain't following us!" Zoe shouted. Mal let out a bitter laugh.

"Bad news is we're still crashing!" He shouted back to his first mate.

They hit the earth with a huge crash, sending dirt, sand and various bits of ship flying for miles as they slid to a complete hault. Each crew member lay still for a moment, trying to work out if they were hurt or not until Mal spoke first.

"Is everyone alright?" He asked, watching as they each began to pick themselves up from the ground.

"Yeah we're okay" Jayne growled, speaking for himself, Book and Simon. Zoe just nodded and Wash held his thumb up. Quickly Mal hit the com.

"Inara? Inara talk to me!" He said. There was a tense silence as he waited for an answer from the companion.  
"I'm here, i'm ok" She said quietly. Mal let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding.

"Okay people, we got a job t'do. So lets go and do it. Wash, Zoe I want you two to get this ship ready to fly. We may need to make a very quick get away" He said looking to the two.

"Well...like I said...without Kay..."

"Yes sir!" Zoe snapped, cutting off her husband who seemed very good at reminding the crew, especially Jayne, just how missed the little mechanic was.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to tear all of her skin off just so that he couldn't touch her anymore. He was on her, moving, sliding, pressing his cold lips against her skin and she was helpless to move. To do anything other than lie there and try to block out the feeling of invasion. She knew she was bleeding, she could feel it running down her skin. It was the only warmth she knew and it was comforting in a strange way. When he was finally done he pushed himself off her and cleaned himself up. Fixing her clothes but not bothering to clean away any blood on her legs or face or even to smooth down her hair that he had held a handful of. She heard him tell one of his assistants to take her back to her room. When he came in he was carrying something.

"This is a soother" he said. For some reason his voice was comforting, friendly almost. Kaylee was glad it wasn't a sedative, it wasn't like she had the strength to attack anyone anyway.

It was only when she was back in her room she was getting the stregth to move herself back. She dragged herself into the shower, sitting shivering and crying at the hot water pelted down on her skin. She wanted to scrub every trace of him off her but no matter how hard she scrubbed at her red raw skin, she could still feel his hands on her. His cold lips.

"Kaylee?" She heard a small voice say. River was kneeing near the door of the washroom, leaning against the door frame and watching her with big sad eyes. Kaylee didn't look at her but she didn't fight it when she felt her arms wrap around her, joining her under the water.

When she opened them again she found them back in the feild near the forest and the stream. The sky was dark and cloudy, thunder rolling in the back ground. They were in the exactly same position as they were in the shower only now there were totally alone inside Kaylee's mind.

"I'm so sorry Kaylee, I knew something was going to happen but I couldn't stop it!" River sobbed along with her broken friend. Kaylee's crying had slowed to a silent grieving.

"You weren't ta know," She said, her hand rubbing Rivers back, "It's nobodys fault. It's this...this place!" She spat with venom. River nodded.

"I just feel so...lost" She said, her voice barely above a whisper as another clap of thunder echoed, "I feel like I just wanna curl up an' die"

As the words left her mouth River began to feel tiny cold drops of rain hit her skin, making her shiver with the cold.

"No you don't!" She exclaimed, pushing back the small girl and shaking her slightly, "You gotta fight, if you don't then we won't get out of this! Use that feeling against them" Kaylee sniffed and nodded.

"Only when you have people to carry you, can you stop crawling" She whispered. Kaylee nodded again. River was right, now was not the time to feel sorry for herself. She'd just have to bottle up the feelings until it was safe to let them go.

"I have an idea..." River started slowly, "But for it to work...you'll need to be dead..."


	9. Fortunes Fool

"Now remember, small weapons only!" Book said as he watched the two men gear up in the Galley, Jayne frowning as he put Vera back on the table. If he had his way he'd be bursting in all guns blazing even if it was suicide.

"When we get there, remember, we're there to inspect the facility and you two are my...protection" Book said, picking his words carefully. Mal nodded.

"We know, Shepard, We know" He grunted. Book had made them authorisation tags. Mal wasn't sure he wanted to know exactly how Book was able to get hold of all this information. He made a mental note to find out once they were all safely drifting and away from danger.

The three men stood at the exit of the ship, the door slowly opening to show the completely residential area. It was peaceful in a strange way. If you didn't know the truth about why it was so damn peaceful that it.

The three stalked forward, Mal looking up at the sky ahead. The clouds were starting to form a large grey mass.

"Looks like its gonna rain an' this is gonna be hard enough without bein' soaked in the process, we better get a move on" Mal said, falling into step with Jayne and Book. Both of them were striding forward, anxious to find Kaylee and River and bring them home.

Jayne was in agony. He'd never shown so much self control in his life. His trigger finger was itching to just shoot something, anything, that moved in the slightest. They approached what looked like a normal building, Jayne could see a small camera next to the door. Book signalled for them to stop so he could show his identification, the only one that was actually real. Suddenly the door sprang open and General Bell stood infront of them looking a little more than untidy.  
"Can I help you gentlemen?" He asked, his voice was high and slightly panicked. Book kept his cool all the same.

"My name is Shepard Book, Authorisation Alpha9687. These are my security escorts" He said with a pleasent smile. "We're here to inspect the premises"

General Bell had a strange smirk on his face.

"Well...I wasn't aware we were getting a visit from someone so...important" He spat, "Follow me" the man spun on his heel and began to walk down the stairs. Book turned and nodded to Mal and Jayne. Things were going to plan.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

River and Kaylee were sitting cross legged across from each other talking again. River had developed a plan that would help them escape.

"You really think it'll work?" Kaylee asked. The sky in her mind was clear but still not as warm or sunny as it usually was. River made a mental note to help her with that once they were happy and back on Serenity.

"With our skills it will! They can only control us through this gas that they keep pumping into this room" she said. Kaylee knew it was true. They were always knocked out before anyone came in the room.

"Okay, I managed to smuggle one of the soother injectors. It's empty but the look alone with hopefully fool them enough to think we've really..."She gulped, "Killed ourselves" She hated the thought, not matter how bad things got she would never think to do that. River smiled.

"I know it'll be hard but...it's just another bump in the road before we get home" Kaylee smiled and the sun shone a little brighter and warmer. All she really wanted to do was go home. They were going to do it and God help anyone who stood in their way.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

"As you can see we're really pushing the boundries on what our subjects can do" General Bell bragged as they marched through the various twisting and turning coridors of the facilities. Room with screaming subjects, needles all over their skin, scientists cutting and prodding and scraping just to see what kind of response they could get.

"I understand you have some new subjects in. A reader and a telepath?" Book said. Bell raised an eyebrow and his eyes narrowed at the three men, he seemed to be sizing them up deffinately deciding that the large man with the dark hair and facial hair was the serious threat. Suddenly his face broke into a cheery grin that Mal found disturbing.

"Ah! News must travel fast. You're right we do" He said, "Two girls, very pretty too" Mal could feel Jayne tense next to him and he had to put a hand on the larger mans arm to try and calm him.

"Very talented too I suppose" Book said, humouring the man in an attempt to get him to open up and tell some information about what they had been doing.

"I think we've only scratched the surface if i'm honest and the power they both display is already at an extraordinary level but there are some side effects" He muttered at the end.

"What kind of side effects?" Mal blurted out suddenly but this just amused General Bell.

"Well other than sore muscles from stress and head aches from all the training sessions we've been putting them through, Kaylee has been experiencing some...complications to do with her heart beat mixed with the behavioral therepy we've been treating her with" Jayne was gritting his teeth so hard that his jaw was starting to hurt, it was taking all his self control to not grab the small guy by the throat and throw him through the metal walls.

"But then, we have never worked with a subject with such an unusual heart beat..." he continued on, Book politely nodding alone while wanting to punch the pompous man straight in the face, "But she really is something special, something..._very_ special" He breathed. There was something unsettling about the way he was staring into the distance, like he was watching her infront of him.

"Yes I'm sure she is" Book said clearing his throat and breaking the strange man out of his trance, "We'd be very interested in viewing these subjects for ourselves" General Bell grinned.

"Of course...right this.." He didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence as the alarm went of, bathing the corridors in a red light. A frantic man ran towards them.

"General! It's the girls, the Telepath and the reader have broken free!"

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

The both lay there still and quiet as rocks. There was a strange calm that came with playing dead, just lying there with her own thoughts, eyes closed. The well placed needle would hopefully be all the scientists needed to see to send them into a panic. These poor men were always so tightly wound and since River and Kaylee were their best subjects, of course they didn't want anything to happen to them.

They were right, it only took a few moments of 'playing dead' for someone to notice that something was very wrong. Kaylee could hardly supress her smile as she heard the door fly open and the single man say things under his breath about 'How could his possibly happen' and 'Where the hell did they even get the needle...'

The second she felt his presence over her she thrusted her head upwards, the top of her head shattering the mans nose and sending his reeling backwards to the floor, blood all over his face. Swiftly, the two girls jumped to their feet grabbing the unconcious mans keycard and running from the room.

The corridor they found themselves in was surprisingly empty. Maybe the facility were too comfortable in their ways, that they had them in such a secure area that they didn't need to have someone watch them all the time. Kaylee looked across the hall to a room then down at her bare feet.

"You may be alright with goin' barefoot but i'm not!" She said, throwing herself across the hall and bursting the door down. The locker room had all manner of different kinds of clothes but the only thing Kaylee needed was right infront of her; A pair of black leather boots that she could just pull on. They fitted surprisingly well.

River took in a deep breath and smiled.

"They have come for us" She said, her voice sounding far away and gentle. Kaylee grinned. This was going to be much better than she'd planned.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

"Someone tell me what the fuck is going on!!" General Bell screamed down the com. It was amusing for the other three men to watch him lose his cool, the small general frantically running around the room.

"General, i'm sure it's going to be just fine" Book said, nice and patronising, "I mean, it's not like you did anything to them personally right?" There was venom at the back of his sentence and the raised eyebrow Book sported made him a little more than uncomfortable. Suddenly they could hear shouts and gunfire through the com, sounds of bodies being kicked, punched and broken.

"Well...you're right. I...never did anything personally" General Bell stuttered, not looking at the men.

"You're wrong" A voice rang in all of their ears. A familiar voice that Mal had never been so happy to hear.

"River?" Mal called out into the room, "Where are you?"

"I'm very close...You don't need to worry" She breathed, "But you, General...you've been a bad man"

He was starting to get hot under the collar. Of course the reader knew what he had done, if she hadn't found out in her own way then Kaylee would have certainly told her. Jayne growled at the man, he hadn't liked him from the second he'd laid eyes on him and now he was thinking he'd have a good reason to shoot him.

"I don't know what you're talking about" He spat, feeling a pinching, stinging feeling in the back of his neck.

"I think you do...you wanted her from the first time you saw her" River said. Bell's chest began to feel tight, a lump was rising in his throat. "But you couldn't have her. It drove you mad..."

Jayne could hardly control his temper. His jaw was starting to hurt from gritting his teeth and his trigger finger was twitching. He knew that River was talking about Kaylee and he hoped that she was with the small reader.

"You hurt her. You took something that was never intended to be yours...and now the deed is going to come back on you" Bell looked around the room at the three men, all of them growling at him.

"Where is she?" He asked, his voice shaking as he looked towards the door. He heard what sounded like a metal hatch being opened and a thud as Kaylee dropped to the floor, landing swiftly on her feet.

"Behind you"


	10. No Power in the 'Verse Can Stop Us

They had completely ruined the men that was gaurding the observation corridor. Bodies lay all around, blood smeared over the walls and yet the two young girls walked with a slight bounce just happy to be free. It was like a game to them, points for every man you knocked down. River could feel something. Something familiar and kind and warm. They were getting closer too. There was something else with the warmth though, something hard and cold...painful almost. Kaylee could feel it too, the awful memories rushing back to her like a tidal wave ripping through her head causing her to crumble to her knees, holding the side of her head in pain.

"He's...close" She muttered, "He's so close to me" River walked over to her and picked her up.

"But this time, you're the one in charge" She wiped the tears running down Kaylee's face and nodded to the room they were close to, "You know how to get in there. Get the drop on him. Go!"

She let go of her friend and watched as she sprinted, suddenly jumping up and catching a metal pole and vaulting herself into the large overhead vents above. With a grin River did the same, it was a perfect hiding place plus she wanted to see how it the scene unfolded.

Slowly and quitely she slid along the dark cold metal tunnel until she came to a vent. Down below stood General Bell, looking a little flustered. He was right to look that way, River was having a real good time messing with the mans head. She'd wait for her cue to drop down.

"You hurt her. You took something that was never intended to be yours...and now the deed is going to come back on you"

"Where is she?" That was it, her cue to give him exactly what was coming to him. Swiftly she opened the vent and dropped to her feet landing with a light thud behind the small man.

"Behind you" She had a strange smile on her face as he spun around with such fright that he tripped backwards and fell on his back, trying to crawl away from the raging telepath. Jayne sucked in a breath, she looked rough as hell. She was patched with bruises and none of them had ever seen her looking so angry.

"N...Now c'mon Kaylee..lets talk about this.." Bell stuttered, crawling backwards away from her. She just stood there staring at him, considering her best options as to how to deal with him. Thats when she realised she wasn't in the room alone. She quickly jumped over the cowering general and threw herself into Jayne's arms, taking in every single peice of him. He crushed her against his body, his face buried in her hair. Mal gave a half smile. It wasn't really the time but he'd be damned if he was going to break up the reunion. General Bell stood up, confused and scared.

"What in the hell is going on?!" He demanded. Mal walked forward, his gun pointed at the man.

"Well incase ya ain't guessed. We don't work for the alliance. Ya got some people here that belong with us, and we're here t'take em back" Bell sneered.

"I should have known! You're not going to get away with this!" He shouted. Book laughed.

"With those two girls with us? I doubt you're going to be able to stop us" He said looking towards Kaylee. She looked at him, her arms still around Jayne's waist.

"River is outside. We'll deal with him" She said simply in a tone that was not to be questioned. Book and Mal slid outside leaving Bell in the room with the couple.

"Funny how things work out ain't it?" Kaylee asked the man, walking towards him. He stared at her, his eyes dancing over her curves. Suddenly he felt a crushing feeling in his legs and he fell to his knees. Kaylee smiled.

"Yep that was me, but believe me...that pain ya just felt in your knees right there...ain't gonna be a patch on what you're gonna feel pretty soon" She smiled down at him. She was going to enjoy this.

"See I remember everything. I felt everything. It's all I can do to not rip my skin off just to get rid of the feeling of your hands on me" She spat. Jayne growled from behind her clenching and unclenching his fists in frustration.

"But I also remember you telling me that the other man wasn't coming for me..." Bell's gaze fell to Jayne, "Well I've got news for ya, he's in the room with us right now...and he's _not _in a good mood!"

As soon as the words had left her mouth it had given Jayne the all clear to storm forward and grab the smaller man by the throat, pinning him against the wall hard, his feet hanging above the ground. Bell suddenly couldn't focus as a hard fist connected with her face, his nose shattering and spraying blood everywhere. It was amazing he was still awake as he was thrown across the room landing in a crumpled pile on the floor.

Jayne wasn't sure how long he'd been hitting for but the mans face looked virtually unrecognisable.

"Stop" Kaylee said. Jayne growled and dropped the man to the floor, Bell crawling to his knees. Kaylee watched as he did so, walking over to Jayne and putting his arms around his waist and pulling on of his guns from him. Jayne pulled the other out, still holding onto Kaylee's waist.

"Wh..what makes you think you'll be able to beat the alliance" General Bell slurred at them, blood spilling from his mouth, "They will hunt you down!"

Kaylee smiled up at Jayne and then looked back to Bell, both pointing their guns at him but remaining attached to each other in a side on hug.  
"No power in the 'verse can stop _us_"

She smiled as General Bell's body was riddled with bullets, both of them firing until the clips were empty. Who cares, he was scum, but something still didn't feel right. She was enjoying it too much, the sight of his blood soaked body lying infront of them actually made her feel happy. She hoped it was the behaviour conditioning they'd been giving her talking. This wasn't her at all.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

The 5 people all found themselves running through the rat maze of halls and stairs, running through anyone who got in their way and leaving a trail of bodies behind them. Kaylee frowned as she ran alongside River while Mal and Jayne ran ahead providing cover. That burning feeling in her chest was rising again. She began to grit her teeth trying her best to ignore it, now was not the time to suddenly turn helpless on everyone.

"Kaylee?" River ask her as the stopped suddenly, Mal and Jayne checking the way ahead to see if it was clear or not. Quickly she looked to her friend and grinned as if everything was just fine.

"I'm fine" She stressed, "Really"

Of course River knew everything wasn't fine. She was reader but since they had been waved on by Mal and Jayne, now was not the time to start arguing. She'd have to take Kaylee's answer for now.

Kaylee began to smile despite the pain that was running through her body. The final set of stairs they were climbing meant they were almost out to the surface and back to Serenity. The bright sun bouncing off the white stones of the settlement hurt her eyes as they burst out of the facility. For some reason it had all felt a little too easy for them. Kaylee and River had met a lot of opposition and they had taken them out without getting so much as a scratch on either of them. The five of them together had also mown through a high number of bodies but still, something didn't seem right. There was something in the air, something almost tangible about the atmosphere around them. Kaylee and River could feel it, both of them staring out to the flat peice of land that was just ahead of the plaza, down some marble steps.

Kaylee looked to the sky and felt a sharp pain the back of her head, she heard snarling in her ear. They weren't going to be alone on the planet for long.

"Uh Ladies, I think its time we got moving!" They heard Book shout behind them. The three men watched as Kaylee lifted her hand without turning to look at them in silent request of silence. Suddenly she spun on her heels.

"REEVERS!" She screamed to them. Mal shook his head.

"But I thought we were..." Before he could finish his sentence the hidden com in his jacket began to crackle and Wash's panic stricked voice poured through.

"Sir! We got Reevers heading straight for you, you gotta get back to the ship ASAP!" Mal shoved the com back in his pocket and put his hand back to his gun, anxious to leave. River shook her head at him.

"No time. We have no time" She said, her voice once again far away and her eyes acting like they wouldn't focus.

There was a huge roar as the Reever ship broke atmo and started to barrel forward towards the ground. Kaylee started to feel strange, like her body wasn't listening to her mind. She started to walk forwards towards the stretch of open land. Her vision had never been so clear, everything was almost sparkling but her mind was foggy. All she could hear was snarls and growls and the screams of people being tortured in horrible ways.

"Kaylee! River! Get outta there!" Mal screamed at the two who just held their ground as the huge ship landed, harpoons hitting the ground allowing the Reevers to slide down the ropes to the dirt below. Jayne could feel his head pounding in his chest and echoing in his ears. It was too late to even get close to the girls without being caught in the wave of Reevers that were sprinting towards them at an un-natural speed.

Kaylee looked at River, their eyes meeting in silent understanding. Nothing was going to get to their ship. She thought as hard as she could, focusing on Jayne and doing her best to reach him.

_"I love you"_

"What? Kaylee?" He said out loud, Mal and Book both turning towards him in confusion but he didn't care.

_"I love you Jayne. You don't need to worry about us" _He heard her voicing ringing in his head, light and as sweet as it always was. He frowned.  
"How can I not worry" He shouted, "I'm helpless here. I'm not used t'being helpless" It was true. Jayne was used to being the tough guy in these situations. The man with the attitude and Guns. Now he was terrified and helpless to look on as Reevers threw themselves at the two small girls.

She turned her attention to the black wave that was about to crash on them, her body automatically starting to fight back with a flurry of kicks and punches. Her mind had never felt so busy, so full as the reevers thoughts flooded hers. They were so violent and angry, always angry, sny trace of a human thought or feeling was gone. Killing was all they knew now. The numbers were so many, constantly hitting them. Everytime they took one down, five more appeared. Her chest was burning, her head was pounding and the strain was unbearable. She could see Jayne's face. His jaw set and teeth bared in worry and it was killing her that she was probably the cause of it.

"Kaylee?! What are you doing!?" River screemed at her friend as she stopped in her tracks, watching each Reever as they flew towards her. It was the same feeling she had the first time she'd fought like this. That tingling feeling in her head and hands. With a blast of circular light she blew them all backwards away from her and River. Her head was killing her with the strain of keeping the hundereds of Reevers still, her nose began to bleed as, one by one, she took them appart. She could feel the blood run over her lips but she couldn't focus on anything else. Only keeping her ship, her friends and Jayne safe was what was important.

The strain suddenly was gone as they all fell to the floor, none of them moving, not even a faint twitch. Something was wrong. Everything was going slow, she couldn't comprehend what River was saying to her as the other girl ran towards her, grabbing her by the shoulders. Mal, Jayne and Book were running towards her too as her body finally gave out and hit the dry ground below her.


	11. Smoke and Mirrors

The dark clouds that had been hanging overhead had finally burst into hard pelting rain, soaking the group to the bone. Not that Jayne had really noticed, He was too busy cradling Kaylee against his chest as they walked back to the ship. They all walked in silence, River concentrating in trying to reach out to her friend. It worried her that she couldn't hear anything, couldn't get into the mechanics mind.

"Shes so quiet" She said softly, Mal walking along side her. He nodded.

"I know mei mei" He said, "Shes just sleepin'" He wasn't sure if he believed his own words. The power Kaylee had displayed had down right terrified him the first time. This time there were twice as many Reevers and yet she'd still managed to fight half of them off before taking the whole lot out with just her mind.

"Lying" River said simply. Mal sighed. He forgot that the damn girl was a Reader.

"What the hell? River are you alright?!" Simon shouted, rushing towards the group as they boarded the ship. The whole group scowled at him.

"Incase you havn't noticed i'm not the one who needs attention. Boob!" River snapped with a scowl at Simon. He then noticed Kaylee, completely unconcious with blood running from her nose.

"Right! Bring her to the infirmary" He muttered following Jayne as he marched to the infirmary.

Gently he put her down on the bed as Simon applied all sorts of pads to her wrists and chest, setting up all the equipment to take her readings.

"This is interesting..." Simon muttered quietly. Jayne frowned, his hand still holding hers.

"What is?" He snapped. Simon was still looking at the monitor on the wall.

"Her heart rate has slowed back to normal...this says that she should be fine" He said. Jayne scowled.

"Well obviously she ain't fine!" Jayne snapped, River putting a hand on his shoulder in a vain attempt to calm him down. Mal sighed.

"You got any ideas at all doc?" Mal asked. Simon shook his head sadly.

"Give me bullet wounds, lazer burns or an infection and I can fix it but this...this is seems to be completely psycological" Suddenly the whole room turned to River, her eyes going wide at the sudden attention.

"I'll try" She said simply.

"Okay, everyone out" Mal announced. He didn't look at Jayne, knowing that he wasn't going to leave Kaylee's side. River stopped Simon.

"We might need you here. You need to stay" She said. As everyone left the room she sat cross legged on the other bed, closing her eyes and concentrating on Kaylee.

The pain was so intense and sudden that it made River want to cry out. She could feel it radiating from every corner of the small mechanics mind. The beautiful field that they used to retreat to, with its gentle breeze and cool stream, was gone and replaced with something that was so unlike Kaylee. The stream was dried up leaving a large gaping bank of dried ground, the grass on its banks no longer green and soothing but hard and prickly. It hurt Rivers feet as she walked closer to it, trying to find the small mechanic. River looked up to the sky, it was glowing a bright orange colour that would have seemed beautiful until she looked across the dried bank to discover the cause. The stunning forest that she had so fondly looked upon was now a blaze, the smoke stinging her nostrils and blurring her vision but she could just make out a figure standing at the forest edge.

"Kaylee!" she screemed, spriting towards her while ignoring the cuts and scrapes that were forming on her feet from the hard grass and dirt from the dried stream.

"Kaylee stop!" She said, standing a few meters away from where Kaylee stood. Slowly she turned around to face the Reader, tears running down her face. Only they weren't tears. It was blood. River gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth.

"Hi River" She said quietly, not really looking at the reader but rather, looking through her.

"Kaylee, I've come to take you home..." River started quietly. Kaylee shook her head and put her hands over her ears.

"No...No I can't go back there. It's not safe...Not safe!" She muttered, her hands rubbing her face and smearing the blood, a new droplet running down in its place.

"We're not at the facility anymore. We're on Serenity" She said, taking a step forward. The mechanic jumped backwards, her whole body shaking. She shook her head again.

"I'm not safe...I...I kill people" She quivered, "I shot that man...I filled him full of holes" Slowly, she wiped her hands across her face, covering her palms in blood and showing them to River.

"I watched him bleed...and I smiled" Suddenly she threw herself to the ground, crying hard causing more blood to cascade down her face. River stood and watched her unsure of what to do. This was unlike anything she'd ever felt before in a person, let alone seen manifested into a physical form.

"But he deserved it Kaylee!" River dropped to her knees, grabbing the other girls hands and not caring if she got covered in blood or not, "He hurt you in the worst possible ways. You had a right to!" She begged with the Kaylee to see reason.

"I don't deserve him" She sobbed. River looked confused.

"Who? Jayne?" She asked, watching as the girl nodded, "But he loves you, unconditionally loves you. He wants to keep you safe" Kaylee shook her head.

"He called me just a friend! Went off with a whore!" She screamed. River frowned and shook her head rapidly.

"No he didn't! He loves you! He's done nothing but try and get you back" Kaylee said nothing for a moment before suddenly going dead weight and lying on the ground infront of the burning forest.

"Leave me alone" She whispered,"I deserve to burn" Closing her eyes, River let the tears fall down her own cheeks as she stood up, her heart breaking as she listened to the broken girl sob while walking away.

"Help me..."

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Simon and Jayne watched anxiously, both of them flinching everytime River twitched or frowned. Simon didn't think he could take the tension much more, he hated watching his sister jump inside peoples minds, knowing how delicate the mind was.

"What do you think their talking about?" He said suddenly. Jayne shrugged, his eyes still hadn't left Kaylee's face. It was like he was trying to memorise each minute feature about her, like he would never get the chance to see her again.

He hadn't exactly been thrilled when he'd found the mercenary and the mechanic together, but the idea had started to grow on him with time. Jayne could give Kaylee the attention she needed, the attention she deserved. He always had his mind on River, even when trying to do something for himself. His sister was always in his thoughts and he supposed that was how it would always be.

"Dunno" Jayne muttered simply. Simon sighed, at least the man wasn't totally shutting him out even though Simon had expected it. He smiled slightly, watching Jayne press a kiss to Kaylee's hand that he held in his.

"You really love her don't you?" He said. The only answer he recieved was a strange look from the man. It wasn't hard or stern like he expected, it was soft and broken and only there for a second before he looked back over the girl.

Suddenly Rivers eyes flew open and she drew in a deep breath, tears spilling across her cheeks leaving damp, silvery trails. Simon rushed over to her and held her by the shoulders as she looked like she was going to collapse while Jayne turned to her but stayed where he was, his hand still in Kaylee's.

"River? Is everything alright? Talk to me!" Simon pleaded. She stared straight ahead, remembering all the feelings of fear, hatred and despair that had flooded her inside Kaylee's mind. The look of complete hopelessness in her eyes as the blood ran down her face. River shook her head.

"So much blood...she's burning" She muttered. Jayne scowled.  
"And what the Ruttin' hell is that s'posed t'mean!?" He shouted, frustrated at the fact Kaylee still wasn't awake and that the small Reader had no answers. She looked at Jayne, the tears still running down her face and her eyes full of fear.

"She...She's afraid" She explained, shaking, "She says that she filled someone full of holes, watched him bleed" Jayne nodded in understanding, knowing that she was talking about General Bell.

It was true that it was totally out of Kaylee's character. She had looked so hard, so angry and looked completely at ease killing the man. Now she was realising what she had done. Jayne knew the feeling, he could remember how horrified with himself he felt the first time he'd shot and killed someone but he soon came to terms with it. That was the kind of thing he'd have to do to survive in the 'verse. He shook his head. It wasn't the kind of thing Kaylee should have had to do. River continued.

"Some of the behavior modifications have stuck too, she's remembering things that hadn't happened. Say's that you left her. Went off with a whore" Jayne scowled.

"Like hell I did!" He shouted, Simon shushing him. River nodded.

"I know. It was a trick that they use, plant false memories. Twist feelings to their advantage" She spat before choking another sob, remembering the broke way Kaylee spoke.

"She says that she...she deserves to burn" She managed to choke out before dissolving into sobs on Simons shoulder.

Jayne screwed his eyes shut. He hated to think that he used to complain about her being so cheerful, now he'd give anything for her just to be up, smiling and running around the ship like she used to. The burden of killing someone, even someone who had done something so awful to drive her to want to kill, shouldn't have rested on her shoulders. That was what he was for. He was meant to protect her, keep her safe but twice he'd let her down. First by letting her give herself up and then again but letting her take his gun and fill the Hwoon dahn full of bullets. With a sigh Simon watched as the man dropped her hand and started pacing with frustration. He wanted to hit something, shoot someone, scream, anything that would take away the burning pressure that was builing in his chest. That awful mixture of guilt and fear that River could feel on his a mile away.

He couldn't take it anymore. Without saying a word he left the infirmary, leaving Kaylee still lying unconcious on the bed with Simon and River near her. It wasn't that he didn't want to be near her, far from it, and if she ever woke up he promised himself that he was going to make sure that she would never feel fear again so long as he was around. Without warning he let out a shout that reverberated around the hull of the cargo bay, both his closed fists smashing down on one of the crates, a gash forming on each side of his hand splattering blood over them. He kept his eyes closed and his breathing steady, focusing on the pain in his hands trying to take his mind off his girl lying in the infirmary. He could hear feet pounding on the catwalk as Mal, Zoe and Wash all ran down, looking over the banister at him gravely before all sharing looks with each other. He growled, he didn't need their pity. He needed his girl back.

Stalking back into the infirmary, he was met with two more worried faces. Simons gaze fell straight to the cuts on the side of his hands and he guessed they were the result of the thundering crash he had hear before. River stood up and walked over to him.

"I think I know how to fix this" She said simply, "But i'm going to need your help" Jayne moved back over to his place at Kaylee's side, ignoring Simon and his fussing about stopping in bleeding from Jayne's hands.

"Okay, what do I have t'do?" He asked. River sat cross legged on the floor infront of him.

"I'm going to bring you in with me. You're going to talk to her yourself" She said, "I'm warning you. Its...disturbing" She said, unsure of how to word her sentences. Jayne nodded and lay down on the other bed that she motioned to, moving Kaylee's bed closer to his first so he could keep a hold of her hand. It was the only thing keeping him sane.

"Okay, Close your eyes. This is going to feel a little...strange"


	12. AshesAshesWe All Fall Down

The first thing he noticed about the enviroment he was in was the burning smell, the smokey atmosphere that was burning his eyes. He pushed down a lump in his throat as he looked around at the blazing forest, the dried up lake and the burning, smoke filled sky. River walked up beside him.

"Didn't always look this way" She said simply, following his gaze, "But she's broken and you have to fix her" Jayne raised an eyebrow.

"Where is she?" He asked, looking all around. River pointed across the dried up stream to the tiny figure in the distance, still lying where she had left her before infront of the inferno. He squinted, his eyes blurring and stinging from the smoke.  
"That her?" He asked, "Why's she just lyin' there?" River sighed.

"I told you she was broken" Her voice was completely toneless. Suddenly she broke into a run prompting the mercenary to follow her down the field and over the dried up stream to where the girl was lying on her side, her back to them.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone" She choked. It was taking all his self control to push back the ball of fear that was building in his chest. He'd never heard her so lost, so broken. It was breaking his heart.

"I also heard you ask for help" River said quietly, silently praying that Jayne was ready for however Kaylee was going to look this time, "I brought help"

Kaylee let out a choked, sobbing laugh, the blood still pouring from her eyes down her face. In horror he watched as she rolled over onto her opposite side to face them, the blood from her eyes running horizontally across her face, making a blood stained criss cross pattern from where the older drops had dried.

"I don't deserve help" She said simply, her eyes not looking at either of them. Jayne dropped to his knees infront of her, moving to brush the hair from her face.

"Kaylee, Bao bei it's me, it's Jayne" He said quietly, his voice shaking slightly. She didn't look up at him but her eyes closed at his touch, red droplets landing on the burnt grass below.

"I know who you are" She said, her voice suddenly cold, "My _friend_ Jayne" She spat. He flinched at the coldness in her voice, reminding himself that it wasn't really her talking. It was the fake memories the facility had planted that was making her think that way.

"C'mon now girl, ya know we're more than that!" He said, trying to get her to look at him. She sighed and let out another sob.

"How do I know? I don't know anything anymore...I killed someone" She said simply, swallowing hard.

"That Hwoon dahn deserved it!" He exclaimed suddenly, "But I shouldn't have let ya do it Kaylee girl, shoulda been me. Only me" His voice was getting thick with emotion and he had to swallow to try and hold it back.

"That's what i'm here for, i'm here t'protect ya...i'm so sorry I wasn't there to stop him..." He stopped for a moment taking in a few deep breaths to steady himself, the harsh smoke burning his lungs.

"Can you protect me from whats in there?" She asked suddenly, looking towards the burning forest. Both Jayne and River squinted to try and see what she was looking at as slowly, figures began to creep forward.

Jayne recognised most of them, all of them had hurt or scared Kaylee at one time or another. Jubal Early, The fed that had Shot her, General Bell and even Mal and Zoe's old army Tracy was there too. There were others but he didn't recognise them. River took in some deep shuddery breaths, they all looked the way Kaylee remembered them last. Tracy was a deadly shade of white with a chest wound, General Bell was full of wounds and his clothes were soaked in blood. All of them stalking forward.

"All of them wanted to hurt me" She sobbed, looking at all of the men. Although River knew there was no real danger it was still disturbing to see so many of Kaylee's fears all in the one place. Standing infront of her.

"This is the easiest way" Kaylee sighed, sitting up and staring into the woods. Jayne grabbed her by the shoulders, his blue eyes drilling into her brown ones, ignoring the blood as he did so.

"Ashes...Ashes...We all fall down" She sang lightly before giving Jayne a puzzled look.

"Why are you here? You shouldn't be here!" She suddenly shouted at him, fresh tears running down her face once more, "You should have left me to die!"

"No ruttin' way!" He shouted back at her, "I'm not gonna let someone I love self destruct!" She stopped and stared at him, the blood still dripping from her face.  
"what?" she asked, the roar of the fire in her ears. He gave her a sad, defeated smile, walking up to her and capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss, not caring about the blood that was rubbing onto his face. All that mattered was her. She stopped resisting and slowly melted into him, his arms holding her around the waist. River watched as suddenly the skied opened, pouring cold hard rain onto the hot ground. Slowly the fires began to deminish but not completely go out. Suddenly she pulled away from Jayne and stumbled backwards.  
"But...what if you're not around...What do I do then?" She stuttered at him. He smiled at her lightly.

"Ain't gonna happen, i'm always gonna be around" He said, watching as River walked up behind her quietly and put her hand on the top of Kaylee's head sending the mechanic into a deep sleep. Jayne sighed and rubbed the blood off his face with the back of his damp hand.

"Couldn't ya have done that in the first place" He said quietly, his voice shaking. She shook her head.

"She wasn't willing to come home" She said, watching as Jayne gently picked the small sleeping woman up into his arms, "And this way she won't remember anything about this"

"Nothing at all? She won't remember the fires or the blood or nothin'?" She shook her head and Jayne nodded. It was probably for the best.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

She was aware that she wasn't alone as she began to come to, the bright lights of the infirmary starting to burn her eyes once more. To her right she could hear someone walking around her, a small clicking where Simon was prepping the needleand she was aware that someone was holding her hand. River opened her eyes and slowly stood up on shakey legs while Jayne was still lying down, completely worn out. She wasn't surprised, going into someones mind was a very tiring thing to do especially when you weren't used to it.

"She should be waking up very soon Simon" River said quietly, watching the other girl intently. Suddenly Simon stopped in his tracks, his arms and legs completely frozen.

"Simon, whats wrong?" River asked, not noticing the Jayne was starting to wake up. Simon shook his head in panic.  
"I...I dont know, My arms and legs...I can't move them!" He stressed, desperately trying to move his limbs. Kaylee opened her eyes hearing his voice.

"Oh!" She suddenly said before letting Simon go. He stared at her for a moment.

"How did you do that...WHY did you do that?" He asked. She squinted in the harsh white light at him.

"Sorry, I heard the needle an' panicked" She said weakly smiling at him, "Won't happen again" River smiled, watching as Kaylee turned her head to look at Jayne, her whole boy relaxing at the sight of him. He turned his head to her and smiled softly.

"Mornin'" he said quietly moving from his place on the bed and slowly to the chair at her side, "How ya feelin'?" She smiled.

"I'm good! I'm really good!" She said weakly before sighing, "Okay...not that great...Like i've been dragged behind the Mule" he laughed despite the worry that was in the back of his head. She didn't seem to remember what had happened and if she did, she wasn't mentioning it yet.

"Kaylee, whats the last thing you remember?" Simon asked, noticing the tense look both Jayne and River shared. She looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Reevers...lots and lots of Reevers" She sighed, "A blinding head ache, which I still have by the way and then...nothing" Simon nodded.

"Well...Thats to be expected. You recieved a lot of trauma to the head so some blank spots are normal" He said. Kaylee just blinked up at him.

"Whats wrong?" He asked. Kaylee smiled though she was still in pain.

"Still got that sore head..." He nodded and started fixing a needle full of soother. She smiled up at Jayne.

"So...did I miss anything interesting?" Jayne swallowed hard and smiled back at her.

"Not a gorram thing bao bei" He said softly. If she couldn't remember what had happened inside her head then he woud be damned if he was going to remind her.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

_She was bleeding, Crying out for him to save her. Everything around her was burning and he couldn't get to her and it was killing him._

_"Help me" she was saying to him. He found himself shaking his head._

_"I can't"_

_"Don't leave me here" She was on her knees, blood dripping from her face to the ground. _

_"I have to..." He didn't want to but he was walking away. Leaving her to die in the blaze that surrounded her. He turned and watched as her small body was engulfed in the flames. Her eyes staring at him through the smoke._

_"You promised you'd protect me!"_

He shot awake, his breathing hard and deep and his skin covered in a sheen of sweat. Quickly he scanned the room, checking that everything was alright. It was the same way he had left it when he fell asleep. In the darkness he could feel her weight pressed against his chest, still asleep even though he'd moved her. He sighed and lay back down, wrapping his arms tightly around her. River had mentioned to him that he might feel a little strange over the next few days. This is was the third night in a row he'd had a dream that invovled Kaylee, fire and blood in some way or another. The third night in a row he'd woken up in a panic and a cold sweat.

"Jayne?" he heard her mutter quietly, her voice full of sleep, "Everythin' ok?" He nodded.

"Yeah, everythin' is jus' fine" He said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, "You go back t'sleep" He sighed as he felt her shift a little, snuggling herself into the nook near his neck and shoulder and drifting back into a peaceful sleep. He knew he wasn't going to be able to drift off as easily, so instead Jayne settled for the next best thing. He was going to lie there and make sure she was safe while she slept.


	13. Luckiest Men in the 'Verse

As the weeks went on, Kaylees bruises and scars healed well until the only trace that she'd ever been at the awful place was the memories that she kept burried away. Her and River were closer than ever, the two of them enjoying having conversations that no-one else could hear. She'd also noticed that River and Jayne were closer too, the two of the hardly ever fought anymore. She was sure there was something that the two of them wouldn't tell her about, something that happened to her, that caused Jayne to have nightmares and wake up in the middle of the night in a panic.

River watched as the petite mechanic balanced gracefully on the banister of the catwalk that was over looking the cargo bay. Even though her heartbeat was back to normal, she still hadn't lost any of the skills she had gained. It looked like they were here to stay, which made for unlimmited fun in Rivers opinion. The two spent most days in their free time sparring, just messing around on the soft mats that they put out in the cargo bay, using their pent up energy on each other. River was just happy that she finally had someone to 'play' with. The last time she tried to play with Simon she'd broken his nose, by accident of course.

Suddenly Kaylee lept from the railing landing with a forward roll on the mat and leaping on top of River with a triumphant grin. It was short lived though as the reader flipped her off, to her feet, and landing two solid feet in Kaylee's gut. She sprung to her own two feet and two stood facing each other with smiled spread on their faces.

They both ran at each other, a blur of kicks, punches and blocks, both of them grunting with the effort and not at a low volume. Kaylee let out a short cry as a solid boot landed on her face, her nose starting to bleed and she threw a hard punch that landed in Rivers eye in retaliation. The two didn't notice the audience that was starting to grow as Mal, Zoe and Book started watching from the Catwalk.

"Hmm...5 bucks says Kaylee takes her!" Mal said, watching as Kaylee grabbed River in a reverse headlock and flipped her right foot back to land a kick to the girls head. Zoe nodded.

"I'll take that bet..." She said with an amused smile. Book laughed. He knew it was wrong to gamble on the two girls fighting below but it wasn't like he was taking part, The bible was fuzzy on that area too. Jayne walked up beside them, coffee cup in hand.

"What we bettin' on?" He asked, Mal and Zoe suddenly going very sheepish. The feminine shouts drew his attention to the mats below and he peered over the barrier to see Kaylee landing a hard kick to Rivers shoulder, knocking the teen girl off balance.

"Y'all bettin' on those two?" He asked, his face hard and an eyebrow raised. Mal and Zoe looked at each other with nerves before looking back at him. He grinned at them.

"10 bucks on my girl to win" He said turning back to lean over the railing so he could watch the two. At least he knew Kaylee could look after herself if she needed too but there was still something he loved about being the one who could take care of her.

Kaylee started to see spots as a hard back hand connected with the side of her cheek. They had been at it for at least 15 minutes now and although River still seemed to be full or energy, she was starting to feel tired. She knew that most times by now a small crowd had gathered to watch and most of the time bet on the outcome of their little sparring match. Swiftly she twisted her body and ran to the side, running up and crate and flipping backwards and landing a boot to Rivers back sending her too the floor. The darker haired girls quickly sprung back to her feet and ran at Kaylee, her movements becoming erratic. She caught Kaylee at the waist knocking the two of them to the floor, Kaylee about to wrap her leg around the girls waist in an attempted crush.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Simon's voice rang through the cargo bay making the two girls stop in their tracks, Kaylee slowly moving her legs from around Rivers waist and River letting go of Kaylee's neck. Simon rushed forward towards them.  
"I mean...what the..Why the...Look at both of you!" He shouted. Kaylee had never seem Simon so angry and now she remembered why they did this when he wasn't close enough to hear.

"You know what...both of you Infirmary...NOW!" He barked. The two girls sheepishly and slowly stood up, starting the walk towards the infirmary. Kaylee winced. They had really gone at it this time. Her nose was bleeding but thankfully didn't feel broken, she had a bruise forming on her stomach and another one forming on the side of her face but it wasn't like she took it all lying down. River was also covered in newly formed bruises and was lucky if she didn't have a concusion.

Jayne smiled at her as he watched from the door of the infirmary as Simon worked on the two. Kaylee and River were both sitting side by side on the bed trying not to smile. Simon however was no where near smiling. He was scowling as he worked on them, unable to accept that what they were doing actually was a regular occurance that had this time just gone a little over board. She smiled back at him but soon had her attention pulled away.

"Look into this light" Simon snapped, pointing his little flash light into her eyes to check her responses. She supposed he was going to be in this mood for a while now. When he was finished he stood infront of the two, the other crew members crowding behind him out of interest.

"What in the hell were you two thinking!?" He asked, Kaylee and River just looked at each other.

"Not like it's the first time..." River said quietly. Simon raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What?! Are you telling me this has happened before?" He asked, looking at the two girls who just nodded but didn't meet his eyes. Simon looked like he was about to expload.

"Don't you two know how dangerous that is!" He shouted, "Kaylee, you have one cracked and 2 bruised ribs and River you're lucky you don't have a broken arm and the two of you have taken God knows how many blows to the head between you!" His face was turning a very strange shade of red and Mal was worried that he might have a heart attack.

_"am I the only one who thinks that Simon is turning a very unhealthy colour?" _Kaylee asked River without speaking. Simon scowled noticing the tell-tale head nodding that he'd learned to decipher.

"AND STOP WITH THE INTERNAL CONVERSATION!" He screamed, breathing hard. No-one dared say anything as Simon let his breathing return to normal. They had never seen him so angry before and it was putting everyone on edge. With a shake of his head he walked towards the side table, picking up a needle and injecting Kaylee then River.

"This is just a pain killer, believe me I think you'll need it" He said, putting the needle away, "Both of you get some rest and i'll see you here tomorrow for another dose" Mal and Book moved out of his way as he stalked from the infirmary and towards his room. Zoe let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and everyone awkwardly looked at each other.

"Wow..." Kaylee said slowly, "I've been shot, taken hostage and held captive by the alliance...but that really put the fear of God in me" The crew all let out a small laugh and Inara smiled at the two beaten up girls.

"You have to admit, you both really went for it this time" She said. Jayne nodded.

"Thats true darlin', most time's ya both jus' block, ya don't connect" he said, "Still damn if I ain't proud o'ya" She grinned at him, hopping off the table on shaky legs and walking towards him.

"Well, I think i'm gonna lie down while I can still walk" She said. Her eyes were heavy and Jayne was a little suspicious that Simon had given her a little more than just some pain killers. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"Come on bao bei, lets get ya to bed" He said as he bent down and easily scooped his girl up into his arms. She grinned and rested her head on his shoulder, allowing him to carry her back to their bunk.

_10 months later_

Today was the day. Kaylee grinned as she looked at herself in the full length mirror she kept in her old bunk. She was dressed up to the nines in her dark denim hotpants, big black boots and a silk kimono style top, black and trimmed with pink. Her hair was styled into tumbling, rag rolled curls and her make up was light but made the best of her features. The girls were finally getting their night out without the boys and Kaylee couldn't be more excited. It seemed everytime they set a date the captain managed to mess things up and had to get them off world as soon as possible, Kaylee growling in discontent as she had to work the engine room in her best clothes. This time they decided that they just weren't going to tell the captain or any of the men for that matter.

With a happy smile she hopping up the ladder, locking her old bunk behind her and playing with her wedding band as she walked towards the galley. Her and Jayne had been married for 6 months and she couldn't be happier. She was so surprised when he'd proposed. They'd finished a job on a snowy planet and the two of them were just taking a walk and he came right out with it.

_"You okay?" she asked him as they walked hand in hand through the snow on the way back to the ship, "You've hardly said two words since we left" He didn't respond for a moment, eventually looking up at her._

_"Huh? Oh, yeah i'm fine" he muttered, his gaze falling to the snow covered ground. She gave him worried look, he certainly wasn't acting like himself. Especially since the job had gone extremely well and they'd gotten paid. _

_"If you say so Bao bei" She said quietly, enjoying the crisp cold air that was blowing gently around her face, soft flakes of snow landing on her face and hair. He looked up at her, watching as her wide eyes took in the night sky and the snow that was falling around. He guessed now was as good a time as ever._

_"Kaylee..." He started taking in a deep breath, "I kinda wanna ask ya somethin' but I dunno what you'll say" His voice was shaking and Kaylee looked worried._

_"What is it?" she asked him, stopping in her tracks and turning to face him. He wouldn't meet her eyes, suddenly going very shy, "C'mon your startin' t'scare me" _

_"Okay, I love you an' I don't ever see a reason for us to be appart so I guess what i'm tryin' to ask is...will ya marry me?" _

_She stood silently, staring at him like he'd just pulled Vera out on her. He shuffled from foot to foot waiting anxiously for an answer. Suddenly she ran at him, throwing her arms around his neck in a crushing hug, her feet hanging above the ground._

_"That a yes?" He asked. She pulled away and pulled him into a passionate kiss._

_"That is a big yes!" She said, her voice full of excitement. Jayne grinned, happy that Kaylee was so extatic while being relieved that she'd said yes. _

_They spent the rest of the walk back to the ship talking about the wedding. Mostly it was Kaylee that was doing the talking, at great length and speed too. Jayne just let her go on, just enjoying the warm fuzzy feeling that was spreading through his chest. She was still grinning as they walked onto the cargo bay, Mal tapping his foot._

_"C'mon you two, I've been waiting almost an hour t'get off this rock! Kaylee help Zoe over there and Jayne, help Book and Wash stash those crates" He said. Kaylee nodded, still grinning and skipped off to help Zoe look through the box of parts they had traded for. As Kaylee's hands dipped into the box, zoe noticed the silver ring with a single pink dimond pressed into it that sat perfectly on her left hand. She smiled and said at volume._

_"Why Kaywinnit Lee, would you like to explain that stunning ring that you didn't have on when you left the ship?" Kaylee beamed at her as the rest of the crew suddenly stopped what they were doing. Some of them looking at Kaylee and some looking at Jayne. _

_"Oh this?" She said holding up her hand, "I'm gettin' married" She said grinning as the crew suddenly broke into shouts of congratulations, Zoe and Inara running forward and covering Kaylee in a frantic happy hug while Wash and Book made a point of shaking Jayne's hand. _

_Mal smiled watching the happy scene infront of him, it was about time that something good happened on this ship and he couldn't have wished it on any other couple._

"River, you look very pretty tonight" Simon said with a small smile as she walked into the Galley. The boys were all sitting there, Jayne, Book and Wash playing cards, Mal and Simon sitting drinking coffee and just genenrally talking. River smiled at her brother. Inara had done her hair for her, brushing it out till it was poker straight and helping her pick out her floaty red dress with cap sleeves and a sweethear neckline.

"Whats the occasion mei mei?" He asked. She smiled and shrugged.

"Going out" She said simply. Simon frowned.

"Going out...going out where?" he asked confused. Suddenly Kaylee walked in the room with a cheeky smile, her light waves bouncing as she walked with a spring in her step.

"Simon Tam, that would be telling!" She quipped, skipping over to the fridge and pulling out a box of strawberries, closing the door with her hip. She walked over to the table and sat on her speechless husbands lap, putting the box down on the table. Simon frowned.

"You're going too?" Kaylee nodded while biting into a strawberry.

"Damn straight I am! We're just waitin' on Zoe and Inara" Mal smiled and watched and she gave Jayne a small kiss, knowing fine well the look on the mans face meant he was getting frustrated. It was taking all his self control to not drag her back to their bunk and rip those pretty clothes right off her but he guessed that could wait, she had to come back from her night out some time.

"Well you don't have to worry bout Zoe. I'm ready!" She announced walking in looking every inch the earth goddess dressed in a long slinky dress made from olive green silk. Wash dropped the cards he was holding, the game long forgotten since the two wives had walked in. He noticed that it was split to the top of her thigh.

"Zoe you look...I mean...Are you sure it's women only tonight?" Wash stuttered. Zoe nodded.

"'Fraid so bao bei" She said lightly, "But don't worry, I'll make sure to save some energy just for you" He grinned and looked at the other men, silently bragging. Not that Jayne noticed. He was too busy growling in Kaylee's ear making the small mechanic giggle and blush lightly. The com crackled.

"Sorry i'm running late girls, meet me in the cargo hold!" Inara said, sounding a little flustered. The companion that was normally so well held together and she hated running late. River, Zoe and Kaylee walked ahead of the group of men who decided they should see them off. Inara ran down the catwalk stairs in a pair of wide legged trousers and a barely there top that showed off her midriff perfectly.

"Inara, you look stunning" Mal said, holding her hand and escorting her down the stairs.

"Thank you Mal" She said blushing as he pressed a kiss to her hands. The couples suddenly had broken off into little groups, each saying their goodnights in their own ways.

"Now River, remember to stay near one of the girls at all times!" Simon said to River who rolled her eyes "But also...I want you to enjoy yourself" He said quietly, pulling his little sister into a hug.

"Are you really sure you don't just wanna...take yourself and that dress back to our bunk for the night?" Wash pleaded with his wife who playfully smacked him on the shoulder.

"Like I told you Husband, just wait up for me and you can do anything you want with the dress" She said before kissing him. Jayne had pulled Kaylee off to the side.

"You look after yourself okay?" He said, his forehead leaning on hers, "I don't want nothing to happen to ya while i'm not around" He growled. She grinned.  
"Don't worry Zhang fu, I can look after myself" She gave him another kiss, "but I'd wait up if I were you"

"Ladies!" River called from the open ramp, the lights of the port shining inside the ship, "Lets move it!" With final kisses and goodbyes the Firefly women all walked off, arm in arm towards the bright lights and music of the space port. The men standing in a row watching them walk off.

"We gotta be the luckiest men in the 'Verse" Wash said watching his wife as she strutted away from the ship. The rest of the men nodded in agreement.

"You think their going to be alright on their own?" Simon asked. Mal let out a laugh that was echoed by Jayne.

"Son, I defy anyone to try and take on those girls and not walk away with somethin' broken" Mal said with a smile. Jayne nodded again, watching Kaylee as she laughed and joked with the other girls. They really were the luckiest men in the 'verse.


End file.
